Beyond its breathtaking views, the statue has a colorful history that’s worth exploring, and a future that could leave it looking very different from how it does today.
Following the creation of the Brazilian republic in 1889, which separated church and state, fear began to grow amongst Catholics that the nation was headed toward a precipice. After World War I, followers felt they needed a symbol to counteract what they saw as increasing Godlessness throughout the country. In 1920, they selected engineer Heitor da Silva Costa’s design of a statue of Christ to be situated atop Mount Corcovado overlooking the city.
Da Silva Costa’s initial sketch was of Christ carrying a large cross in one hand and a globe in the other. The statue, he noted, should face the rising sun. While the design initially won over the project’s organizers, it quickly gained the playful name “Christ with a ball.” After surveying Corcovado from various points throughout the city and consulting with Brazilian artist Carlos Oswald, Da Silva Costa came up with a new design: an Art Deco, arms-wide-open Christ.
Da Silva Costa traveled to France in search of a world-class sculptor to turn his divine design into reality. He eventually commissioned Paul Landowski, a French-Polish sculptor who further sharpened the statue’s Art Deco design. Over the next several years, Landowski fashioned the 98-foot tall sculpture in clay pieces, which were then shipped to Brazil and remade with reinforced concrete.
Reinforced concrete, which had just recently been developed, was one of the few materials strong enough to support the statue and its wide-wingspan design. But Da Silva Costa and others felt concrete was too rough for the fine contours of Christ’s image. Afraid that his monument would end up a failure, Da Silva Costa found inspiration in a fountain along Paris’s Champs Elysees. Tiles lining the fountain accentuated its curves in just the way Da Silva Costa hoped to see in his design. He immediately updated the project’s plans, and eventually chose soapstone to craft the tiles. Wind and rain have worn away at the statue’s stone tiles, necessitating numerous restorations overed w the years. Christ the Redeemer is also a frequent target of lightning strikes
To celebrate the monument's 75th anniversary in 2006, authorities built a small chapel at its base. So yes, you can do mass beneath Christ the Redeemer.
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