Fully funded through donations, the city of Encantado in southern Brazil will erect a Christ the Protector statue that will surpass the current Rio de Janeiro’s Christ the Redeemer statue in height. The Rio de Janeiro statue, erected in 1931, stands at almost 125 feet tall (38 meters) and with an arm span of 92 feet (28 meters).
‘CHRIST THE PROTECTOR STATUE’
LOOK: View of a Christ statue being built in Encantado, Rio Grande do Sul state in Brazil, on April 9. | SILVIO AVILA / AFP pic.twitter.com/xBJ8UTPeL8
— Inquirer (@inquirerdotnet) April 12, 2021
The Christ the Protector statue, when finished, will stand at 141 feet (43 meters) with an arm span of 118 feet (36 meters), making it the third largest statue in the world. It is surpassed only by the Buntu Burake Jesus statue (172.4 feet) in Sulawesi, Indonesia, and Christ the King in Swiebodzin, Poland (172.2 feet).
Construction began in 2019, and the head and arms were added just after the Brazil citizen who proposed the idea, local politician Adroaldo Conzatti, died in March 2021 of COVID-19.
Sculptor Genesio Gomes Moura and his son, Markus Moura, are heading the $350,000 project. The duo hopes the statue will serve the city’s population by increasing visibility for the region’s growing tourism.
The statue will have an elevator going up to a viewing window where Christ’s heart would be, allowing visitors to gaze upon the Rio Grande do Sul valley.
According to the Friends of Christ Association website, regardless of religion, the statue serves as a symbol of “divine protection and blessing for all their desires and achievements.”
Construction is set to be completed by the end of 2021. {eoa}
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