A giant Christian cross is set to go up in downtown Chicago just in time for the Easter holiday.
Chicago’s Daley Plaza will once again become a focal point for spiritual reflection as a 19-foot wooden cross is erected on Thursday, marking the start of the 18th annual “Cross on the Plaza” tradition. The event, held at 50 West Washington Street, culminates in an interdenominational Easter Sunday sunrise service on April 20 at 6:01 a.m., celebrating the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. The cross, an enduring symbol of the Christian faith, will remain on display until April 22 in one of downtown Chicago’s most heavily visited areas.
Easter, one of the most significant holidays in Christianity, commemorates the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, believed by Christians to have risen from the dead on the third day after His crucifixion. Rooted in biblical accounts, Easter symbolizes hope, renewal and salvation, offering believers a message of triumph over death and sin. The holiday, observed on the first Sunday after the first full moon following the spring equinox, is marked by traditions such as sunrise services, which echo the early morning discovery of Jesus’ empty tomb.
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In Chicago, the “Cross on the Plaza” has become a beloved local expression of this global celebration, drawing together diverse Christian communities in a public display of faith.
The 19-foot cross, meticulously designed and built by Chicago residents Karl and Nancy Fritz and their family, stands as the centerpiece of the weeklong observance. The sunrise service, open to all, features music, praise and prayer, fostering a sense of unity among attendees. “All are welcome to come to Daley Plaza to observe the cross during set up for the sunrise Easter service and throughout its weeklong presence,” said Karl Fritz, a key organizer behind the event alongside the Thomas More Society, Tapestry Fellowship, City First Foundation, and Watch and Band Mission.
Tom Brejcha, president and chief counsel of the Thomas More Society, a Chicago-based nonprofit national public interest law firm, said there’s a deeper purpose behind the event.
“The Easter celebration represents a constitutionally protected expression of religious faith by private citizens in a public forum,” said Brejcha, who called the “Cross on the Plaza” an “appropriate response” to those who have warned of America’s growing secularist movement and its efforts to push out symbols of the Christian faith from the public square, including the late Rev. Richard John Neuhaus in his 1984 book, The Naked Public Square.
“Neuhaus lamented that America’s public spaces had been stripped of any references to religion or religious practices, as if it were somehow ‘undemocratic’ or ‘uncivil’ to celebrate Christian holidays out in the open where others could bear witness,” he said. “This is truer than ever in today’s increasingly secular environment.
“But people still have worries, fears, and troubles. Christians believe that Jesus offers the hope that helps us all to address and answer those concerns.”
Despite its seasonal — and temporary — nature, the “Cross on the Plaza” has been the target of criticism, most notably from the atheist legal group Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) and its Metropolitan Chicago chapter. Since at least 2014, the FFRF has countered the cross display with its own secular installation at Daley Plaza during Holy Week. Last year, the FFRF erected a 12-foot structure with 8-foot banners promoting secular values, one reading “In Reason We Trust” with a Thomas Jefferson quote reading, “Question with boldness even the existence of a god.”
The atheist group also alleges the Thomas More Society “explicitly seeks to take over public property for its purposes, claiming that at Daley Plaza it encounters “militants, feminists, [s]atanists, radical Muslims, just about everybody.”
“This is to counter and protest a religious prayer shrine that’s placed annually on government property by a private Catholic organization during the so-called ‘Christian holy week,’” FFRF Chapter President Steven Foulkes said last April.
