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.
Traveling to Christ The Redeemer
Devotees flock to the site to get a sense of the
peace and
hope it provides, and ordinary tourists approach it to appease their
curiosity regarding the spirituality that this statue evokes on most
people. Once in Rio, you could get a taxi that will bring you straight
to the
top of the mountain where Christ awaits. But if you want to take a more scenic route, then you need to go to Rua Cosme Velho 513 to purchase
tickets for the train that will take you uphill.
