Ground was broken for the Church of the Holy Cross at Saint Leo in August 15,1935, and the most Reverend T.J. McDonough, Auxiliary Bishop of Saint Augustine, solemnly consecrated the new monastic church on January 29, 1948.Of Lombardic-Romanesque design, its gleaming white tower and red tile roof dominates the hill-studded lake region of Pasco County. The tower rises 86 feet and is 24-feet square. The materials of which the church was built, as well as the labor, which produced it, were largely native. The principal material is the white brick from the limestone, which underlies most of this area of Central Florida. The interior is richly furbished with red cedar from he Abbey property. The overall dimensions of the Church are 160x80 feet.
Sometimes called "the church that orange juice built," the Abbey Church is aptly titled. The sandstone trim, which faces the outer part of the edifice, and used for much of the interior and the side altars, was supplied, cut and polished by Saint Meinrad Archabbey in Indiana. Its deep yellow colors are symbolic of the arrangement between the abbots of the two monasteries - the stone was actually paid for by Saint Leo Abbey orange juice! Saint Meinrad Archabbey supplied many of the carved oak furnishings of the new interior under the same agreement. In return, Saint Leo Abbey kept the Indiana monastery supplied with oranges and grapefruit for many years.
On entering the church, one immediately notices the majestic marble crucifix above the main altar, modeled after the celebrated figure Christ imprinted on the Holy Shroud of Turin. It is reported that this massive carving is the largest copy of the shroud ever produced. Tradition has it that the shroud was the actual burial garment of Our Lord, though scientists are still studying it. Sculpted of Tennessee rose marble and framed by a colorful mosaic imported from Italy, the crucifix weighs 22,000 pounds. When being raised to its place in 1947, the whole bulk came crashing down as a steel cable snapped and hurtled through the air, narrowly missing one of the workmen. Marvelously, no damage resulted to altar or crucifix, and the only evidence of the near disaster was a slightly chipped floor tile. At the foot of the marble crucifix stand the veiled figures of the sorrowful Mother and the faithful Saint John.
The stained glass windows are of domestic "antique" glass, designed and crafted by the late Karl Mueller of Zephyrhills. Due to exposure to the elements, and settlement of the land causing cracks in the church walls, Br. Paul had to replace the upper sixteen saint's windows. Those windows still needing rehabilitation and protection include: the two rose windows, south and north; the two large angel windows, one of Saint Michael and the other of the guardian angels, patron of the American Cassinese Congregation of the Benedictine Order. Remaining are the two oversized "triptych" windows in the sanctuary: the nativity, with three windows depicting the angel appearing to the shepherds, the adoration of the Magi, and the flight into Egypt. On the opposite wall the windows depict the mystery of the Resurrection, with the women at the sepulcher, the disciples at Emmaus, and Thomas called Didymus, who is placing his hand in the open wound in the side of Christ's risen Body. Ten windows need to be restored.
The paintings in the church and its crypt are the works of Urban Sprugg. A painting of the steps to the Roman catacombs is adjacent to the left side entrance to the crypt and is so placed as to give the effect of entering the famous underground place of refuge of the early Roman Christians. Beside it is a large reproduction of the famous Mass of Saint Clement. The obvious elongation of characters reflects the style of the original picture, which hangs in the church of Saint Clement in Rome. It depicts the pope who is preaching to the Christians standing on one side of him while the catechumens not yet received into the church remain in a separate group.
For more details on the history of Saint Leo Abbey see:
