Life-size sculpture was submerged in Little Traverse Bay in 1962, but ice conditions and COVID-19 are preventing tourists from seeing it

PETOSKEY (CNA) — A giant crucifix that has been submerged since 1962 in the waters of Lake Michigan near Little Traverse Bay has not been able to receive its customary visitors in the last two years.

The image of Christ crucified, sculpted in white marble and originating in Italy, measures almost 11 feet and weighs nearly a ton. The life-size corpus measures 5 feet, 5 inches. 

Created in 1956, the sculpture had various owners until it was sold for $50 to the Wyandotte-based Superior Marine Divers Club. In 1962, it was placed in the bed of the bay near the Petoskey breakwall in homage to Charles Raymond, a Southgate diver who had drowned in nearby Torch Lake. Later, the tribute was extended to all divers who perished in Lake Michigan’s waters.

Since 1986, visits to the site have been organized to the place from where the image can be seen, especially during winter, when observers can stand on the frozen surface of the lake. The last visit was in 2019.

In statements to ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language news arm of Catholic News Agency, Northern Michigan Aerial Services explained that the crucifix is submerged under Little Traverse Bay, in Lake Michigan, “which usually freezes in winter.”

“When the ice sheet is thick enough to be safe, a visit is arranged and hundreds of people line up to see it,” the service said. “This year, the ice formed at the end of the season and it was unstable. No visit was organized due to security concerns.”

Northern Michigan Aerial Services noted that site visits are not organized every year because of security measures.

“It has to be really frozen for a long time for the bay to be safe,” it said in early March. “The ice broke about a week ago, with warmer temperatures and strong winds.”

Northern Michigan Aerial Services explained that under the ice sheet “there is a lot of current” and the waves can be dangerous. “The crucifix would have been more seen if it were in an inland lake, but that was not the purpose,” it noted.

According to the Petoskey Area Visitors Bureau, the crucifix is about 800 feet offshore and lies beneath 21 feet of water. 

The crucifix was originally commissioned by a Thumb-area family in memory of a 15-year-old boy, Gerald Schipinski, who was accidentally killed by a shotgun on his family’s farm in Rapson. 

However, the cross was broken as it was being shipped to the family’s church, and the family rejected the delivery. It was sold in an insurance sale to the Wyandotte divers club. 

About 20 years after it was submerged in the bay, the Michigan Skindiving Council lifted the crucifix from the water to install a new base, and it was replaced in the lake. 

In the early 1980s, the Little Traverse Bay Dive Club proposed winter viewings of the crucifix, giving the community a chance to see it through a hole in the ice, with submerged lights illuminating the sculpture. 

Viewings — which usually take place in late February or early March, when the ice is thickest — are always free, with a tent set up to shield visitors from the wind. 

However, the past two years, viewings haven’t been possible because of thin ice conditions and the coronavirus pandemic. 

Detroit Catholic contributed to this report.