The Diocesan Jubilee Cross – A Cross of Hope

GREENSBURG – Deacon William Hisker’s important role in the 2025 Jubilee Year of Hope, “Pilgrims of Hope,” began when he was giving Bishop Larry J. Kulick a tour of the woodworking shop at his home in Greensburg.

As part of the celebration, the Holy Father, Pope Francis, asked each Diocese around the globe to prepare and bless a Jubilee Cross that represents or has meaning for the Diocese. Bishop Kulick was impressed with Deacon Hisker’s woodworking skills and asked him to make the Jubilee Cross for the Diocese.

The cross will be the focal point for the year. It will be used by Bishop Kulick on Dec. 29 in the procession for the Solemn Opening Mass of the Jubilee at the Cathedral. After the Mass, it will rest at the baptismal font in the cathedral for special jubilee opportunities for adoration, reconciliation and prayer.

Deacon Hisker, who serves at Blessed Sacrament Cathedral, used wood from the cathedral from a time before it became the Mother Church of the Diocese and from a Westmoreland County specialty lumber facility.

“The nice part of these pieces is that they are kiln dried,” said Deacon Hisker. “The wood was rough cut and I planed the thickness I wanted.”

The cross incorporated soil collected from the four counties of the Diocese,. representing humankind created from the earth. We cultivate the earth and it is to the earth that we return after death. The cross also includes the Latin word for hope, spes. The letters are made from stainless steel manufactured at Allegheny Teledyne in Vandergrift, representing the industrial heritage of our Diocese. There are also elements of glass, aluminum and coal calling to mind the industrial heritage of the Diocese, and seeds representing its agricultural history.