A call from the Lord to erect a 70-foot Celtic cross
and 30-foot statue of the Madonna has not gone over well with some
people in the southern Arizona town of Sierra Vista. Jerry and Pat
Chouinard plan a $500,000 project that includes a chapel and a
10-car parking lot – as well as the cross and Madonna – on their
hillside property. Chouinard, a semi-retired printer from Illinois,
described his cross as “subtle” compared to others around the
country. “Oh, this is a small fry,” he told the Los Angeles Times.
“But we wanted it to be seen in the morning sun by people driving
into Sierra Vista from Bisbee.” He originally designed the cross to
light up at night but dropped that idea to pacify critics, some of
whom have pounded nails into the couple’s driveway. Judging from
the vandalism and a lawsuit filed by 40 neighbors, homeowners are
not mollified. “What really burns them up is that he builds a
million-dollar house on the top of a hill, has more money than God,
and spends part of his time in Illinois,” says local resident
Joseph Reiser. “So he won’t be here to deal with what happens when
this goes in.” Chouinard, who says he looks forward to seeing his
opponents pray at the foot of his cross, has offered a $1,000
reward for information leading to conviction of the
vandals.
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Arizonan gets crosswise with neighbors.
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