Holy Land USA

Holy Land USA is an 18-acre (7.3 ha) Catholic theme park in Waterbury, Connecticut, inspired by selected passages from the Bible.

It consists of a chapel, stations of the cross, and replicas of catacombs and Israelite villages constructed from cinder blocks, bathtubs, and other discarded materials.

Holy Land USA was conceived by John Baptist Greco, a Waterbury-based attorney, with the purpose of creating an attraction that would replicate Bethlehem and Jerusalem of the Biblical era.

[2] Bob Chinn, the grounds chairman at Holy Land USA, recalled Greco's mission in a 2001 interview with The New York Times: "He was a very spiritual man.

[3] The website Roadside America included the park in coverage of offbeat attractions, albeit with the cautionary note that visitors should "explore with caution (and with an up-to-date tetanus shot).

[6] The Religious Sisters of Filippi Greco were accused of fearing "liability and being sued" and thereby turning away volunteers and stopping restoration efforts, but they also received support from those who believed that, although accepting the park reluctantly, they had been "good stewards" over it.

In 1997 a group of Boy Scouts repaired the illuminated "Holy Land USA" sign as part of a community service project,[5] and in 2008 the original 56-foot cross was replaced with a 50-foot (15 m) stainless steel one, which was dedicated in a ceremony led by Archbishop Henry J.

[12] On June 20, 2013, Mayor Neil O'Leary and car dealer Fred "Fritz" Blasius purchased Holy Land from the Filippini Sisters for $350,000, announcing a plan to clean up and revitalise the site as part of a community effort.

[18] On 11 August 2018, Archbishop Leonard Paul Blair of the Archdiocese of Hartford celebrated a Mass at the park honoring the legacy of Father Michael McGivney, who is under Vatican consideration for sainthood.

The stainless steel cross erected in 2008. The floodlights that illuminate the cross at night are visible. The Stainless Steel cross was removed in 2013 to make way for a new and larger lighted cross.
View of miniature Jerusalem and/or Bethlehem, Holy Land, USA