Bomb-Torn Church Gets New Cross

Celebration surrounded the lifting of a new limestone cross to the steeple of a cathedral damaged by the Oklahoma City bombing. The deadly April 1995 bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building two blocks away tore away a third of the cross that had graced St. Paul’s Episcopal Cathedral since its construction in 1903. The force of the blast--which killed 168 people and injured more than 500--also blew out stained-glass windows and pushed the brick walls a few inches out, said the Rev. George Back, dean of the cathedral. “We’re going to start with the cross and work our way down,” Back said of the $4-million renovation project. The congregation worships next door, but Back hopes to have them back inside the sanctuary by Easter. The cathedral is expected to be fully restored by Christmas 1998.