Brazil Set to Complete Jesus’ ’Cristo Protector' Statue Larger Than Iconic Christ the Redeemer

Another statue of Jesus will soon rise in Brazil and is expected to be completed this year. It will be larger than Rio's Christ the Redeemer statue by 16 feet.

The statue will be called Cristo Protector. It will stand atop the Cerro de las Antenas, a hill near Encantado in the state of Rio Grande do Sul. The statue has been under development since 2019.

The project was supposed to be finished by the end of 2021. However, the state administration decided to push it back until January 2022, NC register reported.

Christ the Protector to be Bigger than the Redeemer

Made of steel and concrete, Christ the Protector will be 118 feet wide hand to hand.

With these dimensions, the Christ the Protector statue surpasses Christ the Redeemer. It can be recalled that the Redeemer was built of reinforced concrete in 1931 and stands 125 feet tall on a 25-foot pedestal. Christ the Redeemer's arms span 92 feet.

The cost of Christ the Protector is estimated to be over $364,000 and has been funded by the local community, particularly the "Amigos de Cristo," (AACristo) a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting "faith and dedication" through the monumental project.

According to AACristo, the statue will become the third-tallest Jesus statue in the world, behind the 172-foot monument in Poland and the 249-foot monument currently under construction in Mexico.

The new statue of Christ was designed by father and son sculptors Genésio Gomes de Moura and Moisés Markus Moura. The Protector's head and arms were installed on April 6. The construction began in July 2019 and is expected to be finished by the end of the year.

AACristo is seeking funds to finish the restoration, which will cost roughly $353,000 in total.

Cristo Protector to Boost Tourism

The goal of the project is to boost tourism in the area, which is close to Brazil's borders with Argentina and Uruguay.

Once completed, an elevator installed inside the statue will take tourists to look out at the peak of Christ's heart, from which they will have a panoramic view over Encantado, Lake Garibaldi, and the Taquari Valley.

Head project supervisor Artur Lopes de Souza announced on the AACristo website that it will be a glass opening. People will be able to film and photograph the valley where the statue will stand.

Eduardo Leite, governor of Rio Grande do Sul, signed an agreement with the mayor of Valle de Taquari at the end of December, to pave the roads that will allow visitors to reach Christ the Protector.

The project will improve the 1.4-mile track that leads to the Christ statue, and will also include the construction of a pedestrian path.

For nearly 90 years, the Christ the Redeemer statue has stood guard over Rio de Janeiro, and it is one of Brazil's most famous tourist attractions.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Jess Smith

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