Brazil building new statue of Jesus taller than Rio's Christ The Redeemer

Brazil is constructing the world’s tallest ( approximately 43 meters or141 feet tall) ‘Christ the Protector’ statue which will overshadow the statue of ‘Christ The Redeemer' in Rio de Janeiro. The mighty colossal of the new statue is currently under construction in Encantado, a small town in Brazil's southernmost state, the Rio Grande do Sul with steel and concrete by a local organization named Friends of Christ Association (AACristo). The figure has been designed by sculptor Genésio Gomes Moura and his son, Markus Moura. On April 6 the statue’s head and its outstretched arms were fully installed as images of the breathtaking 16 feet tall figure, striking similarities with Christ the Redeemer, circulated online. 

According to CNN, the construction work in southern Brazil began in July 2019, last year during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic situation. The statue, which AACrsito expects to complete by the end of this year, 2021, costs an estimated US$353,000. The company has been rolling out appeals for donations. The monumental Christ The Protector statue is the world’s third tallest Jesus statue with its pedestals and nearly five meters higher than the world-famous Christ the Redeemer in Rio, which was erected in 1931.  However, Jesus Buntu Burake statue in Sulawesi, Indonesia, which is approximately 52.55m high with pedestal and Christ the King in Swiebodzin, Poland, nearly 52.5m stand taller than Brazil’s statue under construction. 

[Image Credit: Twitter/@Western_Trad]

[Image Credit: Twitter/@JDOALL]

Will have 'elevator'

Head project supervisor, Artur Lopes de Souza, said on the AACristo website that the statue will have an elevator installed to carry the tourists on top of the statue for a view. He added, "It will be a glass opening from where people will be able to film and photograph the valley.” This will also attract tourists from neighbouring  Uruguay and Argentina, de Souza explained. Brazil's Portuguese Cristo Redentor, colossal statue of Jesus Christ at the summit of Mount Corcovado in southeastern Brazil is world popular and stands 98 feet (30 meters) tall. The statue's outstretched arms measure 92 feet (28 metres) and it is constructed out of triangular soapstone tiles and concrete, situated on a 26 feet (8 meters) high pedestal.