Brazil's 140-foot-high New Statue Of Jesus Will Be Taller Than Rio's 'Christ the Redeemer'

The construction of the statue, whose arms and head were installed this week, started in 2019 in Encantado, a city of 22,000 inhabitants, located 145 km from Porto Alegre in the state of Rio Grande del Sur.?

The work is expected to be completed at the end of the year, according to the Association of Friends of Christ, which coordinates the work.

"It is a day for celebration, for devotion," said Gilson Conzatti, a local councilor and son of Adroaldo Conzatti, adviser of the project and son of the initiator of the project, Adroaldo Conzatti, ex-mayor of the city who died in March of complications related to Covid-19.

The statue of 'Christ the Protector,' in Encantado, will be 43 meters high (141 feet)? including the pedestal, making it one of the world's tallest statues of Christ with outstretched arms.

Thirty-six metres separate one hand from the other. The monument will be equipped with an interior elevator and an observation deck near the top.

Christ the Redeemer of Corcovado mountain, icon of Brazil, is 38 meters high including the pedestal. It was inaugurated in October, 1931, and will celebrate its 90th birthday this October.

The project is intended both to inspire faith and encourage tourism to the area, its promoters say.

The realization was entrusted to the sculptors Genesio and Markus Moura who are father and son. The project represents two million reals (about $350,000), financed by donations and without public money, according to the Association of the Friends of Christ.

On its website, the association made up of volunteers continues the campaign to collect donations and offers to win a vehicle by lottery to encourage them.