Free Republic

David and Delia Jimenez of Newburgh consider themselves very religious Catholics, so, when Mrs. Jimenez’s diagnosed cancer disappeared two years ago, they attributed it to their praying at St. Patrick’s Church. Mr. Jimenez wanted to show his appreciation, so his wife asked the priest if he could clean the large crucifix outside the house of worship as a thank-you. He was granted the OK and, on Memorial Day 2010, as he stood on a step stool scrubbing the stone image of Jesus Christ, the monument toppled over, crushing his leg. He was rushed to Westchester Medical Center, where his leg...

A deeply religious New York man who believes a church's giant crucifix cured his wife of cancer had his own leg amputated after the same crucifix collapsed on top of him.

A man has been crushed to death after a giant crucifix dedicated to Pope John Paul II collapsed, just days before a historic Papal canonisation in Rome. The 30-metre-high (98ft) wooden and concrete cross fell during a ceremony in the Italian Alpine village of Cevo, near Brescia. Another man was taken to hospital. The structure was dedicated to John Paul II on his visit to the region in 1998. In a strange co-incidence, the 21-year-old man named as Marco Gusmini by local media, was reported to live in a street named after Pope John XXIII – who will also be...

An Italian man was crushed to death on Thursday by a giant crucifix dedicated to the late Pope John Paul II, just days before the Polish pontiff will be made a saint in a ceremony at the Vatican. In a bizarre coincidence, the 21-year-old man was reported to have been living in a street named after Pope John XXIII – who will also be canonised in the ceremony on Sunday, in an event that is unprecedented in the 2,000 year history of the Catholic Church. The man, named as Marco Gusmini, was posing for a photograph with a group of...

<p>Just two days before the canonization of Pope John Paul II, a giant crucifix erected in his honor collapsed in Italy, crushing a young man and killing him, according to ANSA.</p> <p>A piece of the 30-meter (98-foot) high wooden crucifix fell down during an event near the village of Cevo, in northern Italy, instantly killing the 21-year-old man. The Jesus Christ figure attached to the cross is six meters high and weighs 600 kg, according to AFP.</p>