蒙特利尔的这座标志性十字架将于周二停止亮灯。这座由钢材制成的结构重达26公吨，矗立在皇家山（Mount Royal）的顶部；由于安装了240盏灯泡，它在夜空中非常显眼。
Montreal’s landmark cross will have its lights turned off Tuesday. The well-known steel structure — which weighs 26 metric tons and sits at the top of Mount Royal — is easily visible against the night sky thanks to its 240 lightbulbs.
据蒙特利尔市道路基础设施部门负责人让·卡里埃（Jean Carrier）介绍，这座十字架的高度大约相当于10层楼高，“因此它是一座巨大的基础设施设施，从蒙特利尔的任何地方都能看到。”为了进行维修，这座十字架将被断电；据卡里埃称，维修费用预计将达到370万加元。
The cross is about as tall as a 10-storey building, says Jean Carrier, director of the City of Montreal’s road infrastructure department, "so it's a huge infrastructure we can see from everywhere in Montreal." It will be unplugged to allow for repairs, expected to cost the City of Montreal $3.7 million, according to Carrier.
整个维修项目预计需要一年时间，主要针对十字架中部出现的非紧急性腐蚀问题，以确保其符合现行的建筑标准，并增强其抵御恶劣天气的能力。
The updates, which are expected to take a year, will address non-urgent corrosion to the cross’s central portion, ensure it meets current building standards and reinforce it against harsh weather conditions.
总共约有四分之一的十字架钢结构部件需要更换，同时其过时的照明系统也将被替换。
In total, about one quarter of the landmark’s 1,800 steel parts will be replaced. Its outdated lighting system will also be swapped out.
维修工作将分阶段进行，并会安排适当的休息时间，以避免干扰该地区鸟类的筑巢活动及其他野生动物的生活。
The work will be done in phases with breaks, to avoid disturbing the nesting periods of birds and other wildlife in the area.
该项目预计将于明年秋季完成，届时这座十字架将再次重新亮起光芒。
The project is expected to conclude by next fall, at which time the cross will once again be set aglow.
十字架能否成为世俗的象征？根据麦吉尔大学的人权律师兼法学教授珀尔·埃利亚迪斯（Pearl Eliadis）的说法，尽管十字架具有宗教象征意义，但在魁北克的世俗主义法律框架下，它仍被允许保留其存在。
Can a cross be a secular symbol? Even though the cross is a religious symbol, it gets a pass under Quebec’s secularism laws, according to Pearl Eliadis, a human rights lawyer and law professor at McGill University.
“从某种意义上说，十字架更像是一种文化遗迹或历史元素，”埃利亚迪斯指出，“我认为人们对此存在一定的矛盾心理（即十字架既具有宗教意义，又被视为世俗象征）。”
"The characterization of the cross is that it is essentially a cultural relic, if you will, or a historical element," said Eliadis. "I think people do see a degree of hypocrisy in that."
目前的这座十字架建于1924年，但自1642年蒙特利尔建城以来，这里就一直矗立着十字架。
The current one was erected in 1924, but a cross has stood in the spot ever since 1642, the year Montreal was founded.
“十字架是我们文化遗产的一部分，”负责基础设施维护的蒙特利尔市执行委员会成员艾伦·德索萨（Alan DeSousa）表示，“它深深植根于我们的精神世界，是我们身份认同的重要组成部分，是一种具有凝聚力的象征。”
"The cross is part of our heritage," said Alan DeSousa, a member of the City of Montreal's executive committee, which is responsible for the maintenance of infrastructure. "It goes deep into our psyche and is part of our identity, it is a unifying force," he said.
DeSousa表示，这座城市不仅有法律责任，也有道德责任去保护那些体现蒙特利尔身份认同的纪念碑。
DeSousa says the city has not just a legal, but also moral responsibility to protect monuments that speak to Montreal’s identity.
“人们对保护这座公园和十字架非常敏感，因为这是他们身份认同的一部分，”DeSousa说。“他们希望维护自己的传统。”Eliadis指出，对于受第9号法案影响的少数族裔宗教群体而言，山上的十字架是否存在可能并非优先考量，该法案加强了对世俗主义的推行，其中包括禁止公共祈祷，并将宗教象征禁令延伸至日托员工。
"People are very sensitive to the preservation of this park and the cross, because it's part of who they are," said DeSousa. "They want to maintain their traditions." Eliadis notes that the cross's presence on the mountain likely isn’t a priority for minority religious groups affected by Law 9's increased focus on promoting secularism, which included restrictions such as the prohibition of public prayer and an extension of the ban on religious symbols to daycare staff.
随着世俗主义在魁北克竞选中被边缘化，各党派立场如何？ 公立机构——如学校和STM——如何应对魁北克新世俗主义法案 “我认为大多数人可以接受山上的十字架，”她说。“我认识的很少有人为此奔走呼号。”然而，她表示，重要的是要记住，第9号法案试图将宗教从魁北克的公共空间中移除。
With secularism sidelined in Quebec election campaign, here's where the parties stand How public institutions — like schools and the STM — are handling Quebec's new secularism law "I think most people can live with the cross on the mountain," she said. "Very few people I know have gone to the battlefield on this." However, she says, it is important to remember that Law 9 has attempted to remove religion from public spaces in Quebec.
“如果你要把世俗主义作为最重要的社会价值观……那么正如我所说，这似乎确实存在一定程度的缺乏连贯性，”她说。
“If you are going to have secularism as your most important social value … then as I say, there does seem to be a degree of lack of coherence," she said.