Paul Chomedey de Maisonneuve, founder of
Fort Ville-Marie, erected the first
cross on Mount Royal in 1643, thereby fulfilling his vow to the
Virgin Mary in his prayers to end a disastrous flood. An illuminated cross was installed in 1924 by the
Société Saint-Jean-Baptiste and was given to the city in 1929. The city assumed responsibility for maintenance and operation of the cross since then, but there is no documentation supporting the transaction prior to June 2004, when the
Montreal City Council approved cessation of the monument. The city also took advantage of this to perform additional work to improve access to the site and install new park furniture. The renovation cost
Can$2 million, paid by the City and the Ministère de la culture, des communications et de la condition féminine. The cross is made of
steel and consists of 1,830 pieces joined by 6,000 rivets weighing 26 tons. It is 31.4 metres tall, its arms span 11 metres, and it stands 252 metres above the
St. Lawrence River. Following the latest renovation, it is lit by 158 18-LED bulbs. Before the installation of the fibre-optic lighting, the purple illumination was accomplished by changing all the light bulbs. It is now controlled by computer. On various occasions, the cross has been turned red for AIDS awareness and blue for
Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day. The
resignation of Pope Benedict XVI presented a bit of a dilemma for how the cross would be lit; it was later announced that the cross would be lit in white during the interregnum preceding the election of
Pope Francis on March 13, 2013. On March 28, 2009, it was turned off for an hour to mark
Earth Hour. It is a common misconception that by law, no buildings in Montreal are to be higher than the Mount Royal Cross. However, this is incorrect as it is the height of
Mount Royal itself that municipal regulations prohibit buildings from exceeding. ==Time capsule==