S1

Christ the Redeemer Statue is one of the most iconic

images of Rio de Janeiro and Brazil. Cristo Redentor (as it is called
in Portuguese) is an architecture wonder, a tourist attraction, a
religious symbol, a Rio de Janeiros landmark.
S2 Keeping a watchful eye over Rio de Janeiro, the Statue sits
atop Corcovado Mountain 700 meters above the city. The largest
art deco statue in the world, it is 39 m tall and the arms measure
30 m across. It weighs 700 tonnes and is made of reinforced
concrete and soapstone.
Art Deco- influential visual arts design style that first appeared in
France after Worls War I
S3 On a clear day the views from the base of the statue are
fantastic.
S5 At night the statue is lit up and seemingly hovers over the
city as the mountain it stands on is dark.
S8 The first suggestion to build a large religious monument was
made in the 1850s by a Catholic priest names Pedro Maria Boss.
The request was officially denied in 1889 when Brazil mandated
the separation of church and state. A petition started by a group
in the early 1920s, called the Catholic Circle of Rio and was
successful.
S9 It took 9 years to build Christ the Redeemer Statue (from
1922 to 1931).
Local engineer Heitor da Silva Costa designed the statue; it was
sculpted by Polish-French sculptor Paul Landowski. The face of the
statue was created by Romanian sculptor Gheorghe Leonida was
born in Galati, Romania in 1893.
S12 The statue was built to celebrate the 100 years anniversary
of independence of Brazil from Portugal.

There were several designs to choose from. One was a depiction

of the Christian cross. Another was a statue of Jesus holding a
globe, while standing over a pedestal that was to symbolize the
world. The chosen statue is meant to show that Christ loves all
and will embrace all that come to him.
S13 In October 2006, on the statue's 75th anniversary,
Archbishop of Rio consecrated a chapel under the statue. This
allows Catholics to hold baptisms and weddings there.
S14 Tens of thousands of tourists every year get to the summit of
Corcovado Mountain to see the statue, but see nothing but
clouds. A cloud cover may prevent you from seeing Christ the
Redeemer Statue right in front of you!
S15Besides,
depending on the density of the cloud you may not see Rio de
Janeiro either.
S16 Christ the Redeemer Statue in Rio de Janeiro was the tallest
in the world when it was built in 1931. Since then many other
Jesus statues have been built. Nowadays, there are two other
statues of Christ bigger than Christ the Redeemer statue, which
are Christ of Peace (Cochabamba, Bolvia) only 2 meters higher
and Christ the King (Swiebodzin, Poland) 13 meters higher.
S17 On 7th July, 2007, Christ the Redeemer was elected as one
of the New Seven Wonders of the World, beating competitors such
as the Statue of Liberty and the Eiffel Tower. The Christ statue
received over 100 million votes and took third after the Great Wall
of China and Petra.