One of the new Seven Wonders of the Modern World and symbol of Rio de Janeiro the statue of Christ the Redeemer turns 91 this Wednesday (12). To celebrate the date, various events are held from the 9th to the 22nd of October.
This Wednesday, the Holy Mass in Thanksgiving presided over by the Archbishop of Rio, Cardinal Orani João Tempesta, will be held in the morning at 7 am. Then there will be the traditional commemorative cake, prepared by the Sociedade Amigos da Rua da Carioca e Adjacencies (Sarca). Other masses and rosaries are scheduled for the course of the day.
Since its inauguration, the monument has received visits from distinguished people. Pope John Paul II, Dalai Lama, Princess Diana, Prince Charles and former US President Barack Obama with his family have already been to the top of Corcovado.
Annually, around 1.9 million people visit Christ the Redeemer, including Brazilians and foreigners. The economic impact of the tourist attraction exceeds BRL 1.4 billion per year, with a collection of BRL 192,000 in taxes.
History
The monument, 38 meters high, the equivalent of a 13-story building, began to be designed in 1859. French priest Pierre Marie Boss acted as chaplain at the Igreja do Colégio da Imaculada da Conceição, in Botafogo, and watched the Morro of Corcovado from the window. From so much looking at the view, he had the idea of ​​building a large Christian statue.
However, the idea was only put into practice in 1921 by the Catholic Circle to celebrate the Centenary of Independence. In addition to Corcovado, the possibility of placing the statue on Morro de Santo Antônio or Sugarloaf Mountain was also studied. Inaugurated in 1931, the Christ took five years to build and today is one of the best-known postcards in Brazil.
Construction
As it is on top of Corcovado, the monument was designed to withstand winds of up to 250 km/h – an average four times higher than that recorded at the time of its construction. It would even withstand the winds of a Category 5 hurricane like Katrina, which hit the US in 2005.
Each arm of the statue has an area of ​​88 m². The head weighs 30 tons and the foot measures 1.35 m. If you were going to wear sandals, they would have to be size 530.
It is also possible to observe a discreet heart in Christ, a stylized image of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Measuring 1.30 m, it is the only part of the monument that, coated in soapstone, is projected into the interior of the building.
Source: CNN Brasil
