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Vincentian priest
Pedro
Maria
Boss
first
suggested
placing
a
Christian
monument
on
Mount
Corcovado
in
the
mid
1850s
to
honor Princess
Isabel,
regent
of
Brazil
and
the
daughter
of Emperor
Pedro II,
but
the
project
was
not
approved.[1] In
1889,
the
country
became
a
republic,
and
due
to
the separation
of
church
and
state,
the
proposed
statue
was
dismissed.[7]
The
Catholic
Circle[clarification
needed] of
Rio
made
a
second
proposal
for
a
landmark
statue
on
the
mountain
in
1920.[8] The
group
organized
an
event
called Semana
do
Monumento ("Monument
Week")
to
attract
donations
and
collect
signatures
to
support
the
building
of
the
statue.
The
organization
was
motivated
by
what
they
perceived
as
Godlessness
in
the
society.
Donations
came
mostly
from Brazilian
Catholics,
who
comprised
a
large
majority
of
the
population.[4] The
designs
considered
for
the
"Statue
of
the
Christ"
included
a
representation
of
the Christian
cross,
a
statue
of
Jesus
with
a
globe
in
his
hands,
and
a
pedestal
symbolizing
the
world.[9] The
statue
of
Christ
the
Redeemer
with
open
arms,
a
symbol
of
peace,
was
chosen.
Local
engineer Heitor
da
Silva
Costa designed
the
statue.
French
sculptor Paul
Landowski created
the
work.[10]
In
1922,
Landowski
commissioned
fellow
Parisian Romanian sculptor Gheorghe
Leonida,
who
studied
sculpture
at
the
Fine
Arts
Conservatory
in
Bucharest
and
in
Italy.[11]
A
group
of
engineers
and
technicians
studied
Landowski's
submissions
and
felt
building
the
structure
of reinforced
concrete (designed
by Albert
Caquot)
instead
of
steel
was
more
suitable
for
the cross-shaped
statue.
The
concrete
making
up
the
base
was
supplied
from Limhamn,
Sweden.[12][13] The
outer
layers
are soapstone,
chosen
for
its
enduring
qualities
and
ease
of
use.[5] Construction
took
nine
years,
from
1922
to
1931
and
cost
the
equivalent
of US$250,000 (equivalent
to
$3,600,000
in
2019)
and
the
monument
opened
on
October
12,
1931.[5][6] During
the
opening
ceremony,
the
statue
was
to
be
lit
by
a
battery
of floodlights turned
on
remotely
by
Italian shortwave
radio inventor Guglielmo
Marconi,
stationed
9,200
kilometres
(5,700 mi)
away
in
Rome
but
because
of
bad
weather,
the
lights
were
activated
on-site.[8]
In
October
2006,
on
the
75th
anniversary
of
the
statue's
completion, Archbishop of
Rio, Cardinal Eusebio
Oscar
Scheid,
consecrated
a chapel,
named
after
Brazil's
patron
saint—Our
Lady
of
the
Apparition,
under
the
statue,
allowing
Catholics
to
hold
baptisms
and
weddings
there.[6]
Lightning
struck
the
statue
during
a
violent thunderstorm on
February
10,
2008,
causing
some
damage
to
the
fingers,
head
and
eyebrows.
The Rio
de
Janeiro
state government
initiated
a
restoration
effort
to
replace
some
of
the
outer
soapstone
layers
and
repair
the
lightning
rods
on
the
statue.
Lightning
damaged
it
again,
on
January
17,
2014,
dislodging
a
finger
on
the
right
hand.[14][15][16][17]
In
2010,
a
massive
restoration
of
the
statue
began.
Work
included
cleaning,
replacing
the
mortar
and
soapstone
on
the
exterior,
restoring
iron
in
the
internal
structure,
and
waterproofing
the
monument.
Vandals
attacked
the
statue
during
renovation,
spraying
paint
along
the
arm.
Mayor Eduardo
Paes called
the
act
"a
crime
against
the
nation".
The
culprits
later
apologized
and
presented
themselves
to
the
police.[18][19][20]
In
reference
to
Brazil
striker Ronaldo's
usual goal
celebration of
both
arms
outstretched,
the Pirelli tyre
company
ran
a
1998
commercial
in
which
he
replaced
the
statue
while
in
an
Inter
Milan
strip.[21] The
commercial
was
controversial
with
the
Catholic
Church.[22]
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