BEIRUT (AP) — Lebanon's Maronite Christian Church inaugurated a towering, lighted cross Monday as a sign of unity among the world's people.

The cross soars more than 240 feet into the air and has 1,800 spotlights and is located in the mountain village of Qanat Bekish, according to the Rev. Farid Doumit, a Maronite priest in the village.

Building the cross took about two years and cost some US$1.5 million, which mainly came from donations from the Maronite Church, which is in full communion with the Roman Catholic Church and under the authority of the Pope, and a French Catholic group. The cross stands near a church that dates to 1898.

Monday's inauguration came on the eve of the feast of the Congregation of Holy Cross.

Lebanon is a pluralistic society with 18 different religious sects and a parliament split equally between Christians and Muslims. Lebanon is also the only Arab country with a Christian head of state.