Monument to John Paul II

Look here we are! In front of one of the best-known urban landmarks in the Tres Cruces area: the Monument to John Paul II, popularly known by all Uruguayans as the Pope's Cross. It is located right in the central flowerbed where two major arteries of Montevideo converge: Bulevar Artigas and Avenida Italia. History. The origin of this place dates back to 1987. In April of that year, Pope John Paul II made his first historic visit to Uruguay and offered a massive field mass on this property. For that occasion, an imposing iron structure in the shape of a cross, almost 30 meters high, was built. Although it was initially planned as a temporary installation for the ceremony, after the pontiff's departure an intense political and social debate broke out over whether the monument should remain there. For a country with a strong and deep-rooted tradition of secularism in the public sphere, the permanence of a religious symbol generated divided positions. Finally, the Departmental Board approved its definitive permanence, agreeing that maintenance is the responsibility of the Catholic Church. Present. Today, the monument is part of the daily landscape of thousands of people who pass through the Tres Cruces junction daily. It is no longer just a religious landmark, but also a geographic point of urban reference and meeting point. The space at…

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