Frenchman single-handedly restored cross on mountain peak 3,400 meters high
A young man overcame a 15-hour ascent through the snowy slopes of the Pyrenees to carry the symbol of faith on his shoulders to the peak of Aneto.
18-year-old French landscape designer Maël Le Lagadec single-handedly raised and installed a new wooden cross on the summit of Aneto peak in the Pyrenees. The young man crafted the new shrine from dark walnut and carried it on his own shoulders to an altitude of 3,400 meters. This is reported by Aleteia.
The young man decided to act after learning that vandals had cut down the previous metal cross with an angle grinder and thrown it into a ravine. "I told myself that instead of just getting angry like everyone else on social media, I was going to take action," Maël explained his deed. The cross weighed about 35 kilograms, and the total weight of equipment together with the cross exceeded 80 kilograms.
The ascent took 15 hours and was carried out in harsh weather conditions: below-freezing temperatures, fog, and deep snow. Despite being accompanied by a friend, the young man insisted on carrying the heavy burden himself, not wanting to subject his companion to the risk of exhaustion.
In moments of extreme fatigue and back pain, the young man remembered Christ, Who carried His Cross to Golgotha. According to the youth, he "mentally did not give up," as he considered this symbol an important landmark for climbers and spiritual protection for the entire valley.
As SPJ reported, a 50-meter cross was demolished in Nagorno-Karabakh.
