How did Rio’s “Christ the Redeemer” statue get there? – IOTW Report

How did Rio’s “Christ the Redeemer” statue get there?

Wednesday, 17 August 2016, 21:30 MJA Uncategorized 13

Aleteia: One of the New Seven Wonders of the World, it was built to stem the tide of godlessness.

If you have been watching the Olympics this year, odds are you have seen the famous “Christ the Redeemer” statue that overlooks the city of Rio. It is listed as one of the “New Seven Wonders of the World” and has become one of Brazil’s most famous landmarks. Measuring 124 feet tall with an arm span of 92 feet wide, it is almost as big as the Statue of Liberty.

But how did it get up there in the first place?

According to the BBC, in the early 20th century a local group in Rio called the Catholic Circle saw a need to reclaim the city for Christ.

“In the wake of World War One, [Catholic Circle] feared an advancing tide of godlessness. Church and state had been separated when Brazil became a republic at the end of the previous century, and they saw the statue as a way of reclaiming Rio – then Brazil’s capital city – for Christianity.”

The project was then taken up by the Archdiocese of Rio, which proposed it, and a petition was created to convince the president to allow it to take shape.

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13 Comments on How did Rio’s “Christ the Redeemer” statue get there?

  4. How lovely, a shame that NBC and every other single news outlet failed to let us know that when they were doing their individual pieces on ‘the wonders and history of Rio.’

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