Lightning Strike Wipes Out Cross Atop Minneapolis Church

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A lightning strike has toppled a stone cross that stood atop a south Minneapolis church for 75 years.

Neighbors told parish officials the signature 3-foot-tall cross over the main entrance to St. Helena Catholic Church was hit shortly after 4 a.m. Wednesday.

The Star Tribune reports there also was damage to the church exterior and to the main entrance steps from the pieces that rained down. The lightning bolt also shorted out the church's elevator.

The parish has nearly 500 families. The church was founded in a wooden structure in 1914. Its current home was built in 1940 and included the cross.