On the top of the Sierra de Cristo Rey (formerly known as the Cerro de los Muleros, or Mule Drivers Mountain), in Sunland Park, New Mexico, is a 29 foot tall limestone statue of Christ, which serves as a shrine to thousands of people in the El Paso, Texas and Southern New Mexico area.
On the night before lent began, February 13, 1934, several men braved the hazardous climb over dangerous slopes and placed the first cross on top of the mountain. At sunset, Father Lourdes Costa, who first conceived of the idea for the monument, blessed the 12 foot wooden cross. He vowed to replace the temporary wooden cross, with the help of students from the Smelter Vocational School, who worked to prepare a new cross made of iron.
While that was going on, hundreds of people labored long and hard to build the two and a half mile road to make the future statue accessible. With the foundation built and the construction of the iron cross complete, on Palm Sunday a second procession was made, placing the larger and wider cross on the mountain top. It was blessed again by Father Costa on March 25, 1934.
In 1939, famous sculptor Urbici Soler, was commissioned to construct yet another version of the monument. This time it was made of limestone from the quarries in Austin, Texas. The statue was ready in time for pilgrimage on October 29, 1939. The crown that encircles the base of the monument today was constructed and completed to coincide with the fiftieth anniversary on October 29, 1989.
In 2002, geologist Eric Kappus discovered dinosaur footprints in the area. Today the mountain spreads across El Paso, Texas, Sunland Park, New Mexico and Chihuahua, Mexico.
Information provided by the Mount Cristo Rey Restoration Committee.