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FEATURE<br />
Holy Cross!<br />
New 35-foot monument in San Diego<br />
BY CAL ABBO<br />
Atop Rancho San Diego Hill sits the California<br />
Chaldean community’s most recent achievement:<br />
A 35-foot tall, 20,000-pound Chaldeanstyle<br />
cross pierces the landscape for thousands to see.<br />
Last year, on December 14, 2023, the largest cross<br />
in San Diego was airdropped into place by a Chinook<br />
heavy-lift helicopter. After nearly four years of hard<br />
work, negotiations with the county, and fielding<br />
questions and opposition from the public, the cross<br />
stands tall as a testament to and memorial for the<br />
hardships and persecution that Chaldeans and all<br />
Christians have faced.<br />
Vince Kattoula is a San-Diego based land use<br />
consultant and registered lobbyist who specializes in<br />
large projects like this that require extensive permitting<br />
and government approval. In 2019, Samad Attisha<br />
approached him, who had purchased land on<br />
this hill in order to place a cross on it.<br />
“This property is about 80 acres, with very rugged<br />
terrain, completely surrounded with sensitive and endangered<br />
species,” Kattoula said, explaining how difficult<br />
it was to get approval to build anything on the land.<br />
“In fact, it’s adjacent to the national wildlife refuge.”<br />
Mountain lions, rattlesnakes, golden eagles, and<br />
other dangerous animals frequent the property. Poor<br />
terrain meant the cross could not be moved over the<br />
ground. These issues, nor any others, would not stop<br />
Kattoula and Attisha from reaching their goal and establishing<br />
the site of the cross on this large hill.<br />
The hill’s location is significant too. It stands on<br />
the highest peak in the Rancho San Diego area across<br />
from a large Chaldean neighborhood where many admirers<br />
can see the cross at all times of the day and<br />
night. It means a lot, then, that the cross is designed<br />
in a distinct Chaldean style. Its features hearken back<br />
to that of the ancient churches, with three red circles<br />
on each point, imitating what Chaldeans are used to<br />
seeing in their own communities.<br />
Attisha conceived the idea from the beginning when<br />
he purchased the property. His reasons for pursuing the<br />
project range from his personal faith experience to honoring<br />
persecuted Christians around the world.<br />
“It’s hard to describe the feeling,” Attisha said,<br />
reflecting on how he feels since the project was completed<br />
and the cross was installed. “The cross gives<br />
me ongoing pleasure. Ongoing happiness. I can see<br />
it from every part of my house. I cannot help but to<br />
be happy.”<br />
Attisha gets frequent thanks from his neighbors<br />
who revere the cross and pray to it daily, but he defers<br />
the glory to God. “What else could someone wish in<br />
his life besides achieving a project like that?”<br />
Sam Attisha and Vince Kattoula in front of the cross.<br />
San Diego has some history with putting crosses<br />
on top of mountains. Since 1913, Mt. Soledad in La<br />
Jolla has been home to a few different styles of crosses<br />
over the years. The original cross was stolen and<br />
later burned; a second cross was blown down in<br />
1952; the present cross was installed in 1954.<br />
There was some public and legal opposition to<br />
the cross over the years that caused some problems.<br />
For a long period, it was unclear whether the cross<br />
was a war memorial or a symbol of the Christian religion,<br />
legally speaking. Finally, in 2015, a private organization<br />
purchased the land from the Department of<br />
Defense, which resolved its legal issues and helped<br />
pave the way for future crosses like Attisha’s.<br />
Kattoula negotiated with the county to get out of<br />
the various permits that, if required, would grind the<br />
project to a halt and increase its costs significantly.<br />
The biggest issue that remained was how to transport<br />
the massive cross to the top of the hill. While there<br />
was a road leading up to the designated area, it was<br />
far too small to carry the cross all the way up, so Attisha<br />
suggested a Chinook helicopter.<br />
Normally, helicopters cannot carry anything of<br />
this size, but Kattoula found a company in Washington<br />
with aircraft that can airlift up to 25,000 pounds<br />
with a Chinook helicopter. After his own firm designed<br />
the cross, he found a great partner in Coastline<br />
Steel to manufacture and deliver it. In its fabrication,<br />
Coastline Steel used a welding technique called<br />
complete joint penetration, which makes the connections<br />
extremely strong and stable, essentially making<br />
it one solid piece of steel.<br />
When the Chinook helicopter arrived at the site with<br />
the cross, Kattoula and his team realized the wind from<br />
the helicopter would make it impossible to secure the<br />
cross standing up, so they laid it down gently. Later,<br />
they brought a crane to hold it while his team bolted it<br />
down in the foundation. By pure chance, according to<br />
Kattoula, the cross happens to be facing true North.<br />
This is not the end of the project, however, nor the<br />
hassle from various government agencies. Kattoula had<br />
to find a way to light up the cross at night without getting<br />
approval for a permanent fixture. To that end, he<br />
brought some construction lights and a diesel generator<br />
to the cross. Every morning, someone hikes to the site<br />
and turns the light on. Every night, someone returns to<br />
turn it off. Every few days, someone fills the generator<br />
with fuel. Kattoula is working with a team of electrical<br />
engineers to design an off-grid solar-powered battery<br />
that will light up the cross at night automatically.<br />
In addition, Kattoula and Attisha have plans to<br />
add various features to the site. For example, they<br />
envision a “crown of thorns” by placing a fence with<br />
barbs surrounding the cross. They also plan to include<br />
a centerpiece that will feature the heart of Jesus<br />
and the heart of mercy.<br />
Attisha mentioned two people specifically whom<br />
he called his “heroes” and dedicated the cross to.<br />
Each is a martyr in the Chaldean Church and was a<br />
victim of a brutal murder.<br />
Fr. Ragheed Ganni was killed in June 2007 after<br />
receiving multiple death threats. Walking out of his<br />
church, Holy Spirit Chaldean Church in Mosul, he and<br />
a few deacons were stopped by a group of armed men.<br />
According to news reports, when asked why he hadn’t<br />
closed the church like he was ordered to, Fr. Ragheed<br />
replied, “How can I close the house of God?” He and<br />
his colleagues were shot down shortly after.<br />
Bishop Paulos Faraj Rahho was kidnapped and<br />
killed in Mosul in early 2008. Bishop Rahho was taken<br />
from his car after his kidnappers killed two of his bodyguards.<br />
Reports say that Bishop Rahho got on his cell<br />
phone and asked the church not to pay his ransom because<br />
the money would be used to do more evil things.<br />
Two weeks later, his body was found in a shallow grave.<br />
These stories among others inform Attisha’s devout<br />
worship and faith. “Hopefully, the cross will be<br />
there for thousands of years,” he said. Attisha added<br />
a special thanks to the Chaldean community in Michigan,<br />
which played a huge role in spreading the word<br />
about the cross and celebrating its installation.<br />
While the cross is not open to the public, there is<br />
a path to walk there. It’s a narrow trail and there are<br />
some dangerous animals on the way, according to Kattoula.<br />
Nobody is stopping anyone from making the<br />
trek, he added, if someone wanted to take their chances.<br />
He and his family walk up there a few times a week.<br />
“We have so many people in our community that<br />
are successful and have humble roots,” Kattoula said.<br />
“This is the tallest cross in San Diego and it serves<br />
as an inspiration. It serves as a reminder to look up<br />
and thank God for all the blessings he’s bestowed on<br />
our families, on our community, and on the people<br />
around us.”<br />
22 CHALDEAN NEWS <strong>APRIL</strong> <strong>2024</strong>