Cross of the Pope

When we first arrived in Lima, we saw a large cross on the hill. We did not know what it was but we learned that is was a cross dedicated in 1988 to the Pope commemorating his visit to Peru in the early 1980s. Just before he came to Peru, a terrorist group called the Shining Path was wreaking havoc through Peru, but mostly in Lima. They were destroying the electrical grid, burning businesses, and creating a reign of terror against the government. The President at the time was able to gain control, and with the help of the Pope, was able to put an end to the terror. The cross was constructed in honor of the visit, and it was constructed of the metal and wire from all of the electric poles that had been blown up.