Written by Agastya Sharma, a grade 8 student (junior editor I Kid You Not).

Humanity, in its long reign of earth, has seen many monuments to its greatness. We have built the Taj Mahal, the Eiffel Tower, even a nearly hundred feet tall statue of Jesus Christ.

And just one more in hundreds across the world is being built as of now. A new statue of Christ, taller than the previous one. And here I am to tell you all about it.

What is happening?

In the south of Brazil, in a municipality called Encantado, which translates to ‘nice to meet you’ in Spanish (what a polite town), roughly 1500 kilometres away from Rio de Janeiro (the site of Christ the Redeemer, third tallest Christ statue in the world), a statue nearly 140 feet tall is being built.

Read about Christ the Redeemer here

The other two taller structures are the Jesus Buntu Burake in Indonesia (172 meters), and Christ the King in Poland (also 172 meters, but minimally shorter).

It is being called Christ the Protector, or the Cristo Encantado statue. It is going to surpass the Redeemer by 16 feet, which currently sits at 124 feet, when it’s completed. It is roughly 36 meters from the tips of the hands, which were added last week along with the head of the statue.

How is this being made?

Construction for this building began in 2019 and was organized by the Friends of Christ Organization, under Artur Lopes de Souza. The model for the build was sculpted by artist Genesio Gomes Moura and his son Markus Moura. This project costs over $350,000, equivalent to at least 2 million Brazilian reals (the Brazilian currency). It is being funded by various individuals and organizations. 

The plan includes a lift in the chest cavity of the statue, which would take you forty metres up, to a viewing deck inside it. You can look out and see the whole valley from the deck.

The idea for this came from Adroaldo Conzatti, the local mayor, who passed away from Covid-19 in March 2021. Rest in peace, sir. This will be your legacy. 

And that’s all of the most recent news on Christ the Protector! I will be providing a list of links to help you see the material I used to write this article! Hope you enjoyed it, and stay safe!

Read: Fun Facts About the Red Fort

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