Christ the Redeemer

Christ the Redeemer is a monument of Jesus Christ in the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Located at the top of the Corcovado Mountain, 709 meters above sea level, it is 38 meters high on the pedestal which is 8m high.

It opened at 19h 15 on the 12 October, 1931 after five years of work. A symbol of Christianity, the monument has become one of the most internationally recognized icons of Rio and Brazil. On July 7, 2007, in Lisbon at the Estadio da Luz, the statue was elected as one of the new Seven Wonders of the World and the Guinness book of World Records, updated version of 2009, considered the statue iconic in history.

The construction of a religious monument on its site was first suggested in 1859 by the Vincentian father Pedro Maria Boss to the Princess Elizabeth. However the concept was considered again in 1921 when it was initiated for the preparations of the centenary of the celebrations of Independence.

The road that leads to the site where today stands the Christ the Redeemer statue was built in 1824 by Silvestre and the railroad was opened by Cosme Velho-Paineiras in 1884. The following year, 1885, the second section was completed and finally connected to the summit.

The railroad, which is 3800 meters long, was the first to be electrified in Brazil in 1906. The construction of Christ the Redeemer is still considered one of the great chapters of Brazilian civil engineering. The project is erected in reinforced concrete and lined with limestone, originating from the very peak of Corcovado.

The cornerstone of the monument was inaugurated on April 4, 1922, but construction only began in 1926. Among those whose work is noted is the engineer Heitor da Silva Costa author of the design chosen in 1923, artist Carlos Oswald author of the final design of the monument and the French sculptor of Polish origin Paul Landowski executor of thee arms and face of the sculpture.

Some historians speculate that the monument was a gift from France to Brazil in response to any attempt of invasion.

Inauguration

At the opening ceremony on October 12, 1931, it was anticipated that the lighting of the monument would be directed from the city of Naples, where the Italian scientist Guglielmo Marconi would send an electrical signal that would be relayed to an antenna located in the neighbourhood in Rio Jacarepagua, via a receiving station located in Dorchester, England.

However bad weather prevented the exercise and the commissioning of the lighting of the statue was done on site instead. The original lighting system was replaced twice, in 1932 and in 2000.

Protected by Heritage Institute IPHAN in 1937, the monument underwent restoration work in 1980, when Pope John Paul II, and again in 1990. Another important body of work was done in 2003 when a system of escalators and elevators to facilitate access to the platform from which rises the monument was commissioned.

The monument is built on part Cement Skanska AB, Skane and the concrete of the inside of the monument comes from Limhamn, Malmo, Sweden. And what is seen externally is a cover made of a stone called Talc.

Controversy
The process of the proposal of the Christ the Redeemer was a source of heated debates that divide the country into Catholics and Protestants. Although currently Protestants around the world visit the Christ, the first Baptist church leaders were opposed to the construction of it, even to proposing that the money raised should be used to construct other more beneficial projects.

On March 22, 1923, Baptist followers said in a statement published in O Jornal Batista, the official organ of the Brazilian Baptist Convention that they were dissatisfied and they expressed their distaste for the construction of the Statue. The note stated that the construction testifies to an idolatry of the Church of Rome and an affront to God.

The day that this crime is consummated, it is recommended that all true Christians in Brazil to gather in worshipful penance to ask God not to charge the entire Brazil with this great sin, the responsibility should lie with the Catholic Church and the rulers who were unable or unwilling to escape the trap set by the lure of patriotism..

They also said that “those who had the unfortunate idea of erecting a monument to Christ the Redeemer did not intend to honour Christ, but to aggrandize Roman Catholicism.” If I had wanted to honour Christ then seek to erect a monument to him not on Corcovado, but in every heart.

The heart is what Christ wants to reign, however they want to honour Christ, but they dishonour him by doing what he strictly forbade – the making of a graven image.