Christ the Redeemer

Christ the Redeemer is a statue of Jesus Christ in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The statue is 120 ft tall and has a weight of 635 tones. It is now a part of the new Seven Wonders of the World. It is located in the Corcovado Mountain which is at a peak of 700 meters i.e. 2,300 feet in the Tujuca forest National Park overlooking the city. The statue is made of concrete and soapstone. As a symbol of Christianity, it has become an important icon of Brazil, with Jesus Christ appearing to open his arms wide to embrace the entire city below.

It was in 1850’s when for the first time it was suggested to make the statue of Christ on the top of Carcovado by a catholic priest called Pedro Maria Boss. The request of the finance was sent to Princess Isabel to build this huge religious mountain. Initially, the idea was not thought to be a very good one. It was only in 1921, when a need and a proposal of a large landmark were thought about and finally the statue was made by the catholic Circle of Rio.

During this time, in order to gain more publicity, a group organized an event for a week where donations were taken from the public and signatures were taken for those who were in favor of the making of the statue. Most of the donations came from the Brazilian Catholics. A lot of suggestions were given; some suggest that the cross of the Christ should be represented along with Christ, or an idol of Jesus with a globe in his hands. But finally, a statue of Jesus with open arms was chosen. Construction of this religious symbol took nine years to complete, beginning in 1922 and ending in 1931. The brilliance of its engineers was revealed when it was struck by lightning in February of 2008 during an electrical storm. Several trees were felled by that storm, but the statue was left unscathed, owing to the fact that it was made with a top layer of soapstone, which is a good insulator.