Photo By Michael Alexander

ROSWELL—A new 14-foot tall cedar crucifix at Blessed Trinity High School Stadium serves as a reminder of God’s love to all who visit the Roswell campus.

When Brian Marks became president of Blessed Trinity in 2018, he began to take a closer look at the school building and the campus overall. In most places, it was easy to recognize that Blessed Trinity is “first and foremost a Catholic school,” recalled Marks, who had previously served as principal there.

The one exception to that was the school’s stadium, the place where the most people gather at any given time for games or other events.

Marks hoped to install a large crucifix on the hill of the stadium, but there were not enough funds in the budget for the project. The school applied for a grant to purchase a new crucifix, but the proposal was denied.

Marks began to make it a mission to talk about the vision to members of the school community.

After hearing about the proposed project, Mike and Charlotte Sebesta, whose son Matthew graduated from Blessed Trinity in 2015, contacted Marks and offered to make the necessary donation for the project to be completed.

(L-r) Michael and Charlotte Sebesta, Brian Marks, president of Blessed Trinity High School, and Ricky Turner, athletic director, stand beside the new crucifix on the Roswell campus. Marks had the vision for the project and the Sebestas saw it through as benefactors. Their son, Matthew, is a 2015 graduate of the school. Photo By Michael Alexander

“We are always grateful for donations to help in the areas of academics, fine arts and athletics. But donations focused purely on the spiritual pillar of our mission statement are not as common,” said Marks in an email. “Mr. and Mrs. Sebesta feel so strongly about the core of our school, which is the pillar of spiritual formation of our students. I, along with the entire Blessed Trinity family, am very grateful for their generous donation.”

The corpus for the crucifix was purchased, and Ken Kenan, the school’s director of facilities, built the cross out of cedar. Kenan and the school’s maintenance team installed the crucifix between the stadium and practice fields on the eastern part of the campus.

Small boulders surround the front of the crucifix, as well as a light to illuminate it at night.

Father Bob Frederick, Blessed Trinity’s chaplain, blessed the crucifix the week prior to Blessed Trinity’s football game against St. Pius X High School.

For those who would like to see the crucifix, the Blessed Trinity Titans have home football games on Oct. 11, 18 and 25.

In 2018, Pope Francis spoke about the crucifix and how contemplating it reveals God’s love toward humanity.

Through the image of Christ crucified, the mystery of Jesus’ death “as a supreme act of love, source of life and salvation for humanity in every age is revealed,” the pope said March 18 before reciting the Angelus prayer with pilgrims in St. Peter’s Square.