A ceremony celebrating the newest addition to Crosses Across American has been delayed because of inclement weather.

The cross, which will stand 11 stories was set to be raised Saturday in Florence next to Berry’s Seafood Restaurant, but recent rainfall has left the site a muddy mess, said Sara Abraham, the director of the Vicksburg-based nonprofit.

The dedication is now set for 10 a.m. March 21, she said.

“It’s because of the weather. They have worked in knee-deep mud,” Abraham said. “We can’t help the weather and it just hasn’t cooperated.”

The cross is 110 feet tall, 64-feet wide and weights around 18 tons.

First Baptist Church of Brandon attempted to have the cross placed on their property along Interstate 20 in 2013, but the project was vetoed by city officials who said it violated zoning ordinances.

After the cross was rejected by Brandon, Berry’s owner Carroll Berry volunteered to have it placed on his property along U.S. 49 in Florence.

The ceremony March 21 will be taped to be broadcast on CBS Sunday Morning on Easter morning, April 4.

The Mississippi Department of Transportation estimates 28 million cars travel past the site on U.S. 49 every year, Abraham said.

“The whole purpose of this project is not only to reach the unsaved, but to remind those that are saved to remember what Christ did for them,” Abraham said.

“It would be fabulous to have a huge crowd on site during the filming of the CBS segment, so we can show the rest of America how proud Mississippians are of their faith in God and the symbols that accompany that faith,” she said.

The official dedication of the cross is scheduled at 11 a.m. April 3.

Dignitaries and church leaders will be present for this ceremony. The event is free and open to the public, Abraham said.

Crosses Across America has built 156 crosses around the state and 2,000 nationwide. Bernard Coffindaffer of West Virginia started the Crosses Across America organization in 1984. He died in 1993 and the organization essentially dissolved until Abraham founded Crosses Across America Inc. in 1999.