This Statue Is Now the Third Tallest Monument of Christ in the World — and Will Open for Visiting in 2023

Travel+Leisure
·2 min read

Rio de Janeiro's Christ the Redeemer is no longer the tallest statue of Jesus in Brazil, now that the building of the new Cristo Protetor — Christ the Protector — statue in Encantado has been completed.

Officially completed on April 22, according to its website, the new 143-foot statue is in Rio Grande do Sul which is about 975 miles southwest of the famous Christ the Redeemer in Rio atop Mount Corcovado

Though the new statue — being built by the Associação Amigos de Cristo (Friends of Christ Association) — is done, it won't open to visitors until the first half of 2023 since the tourist complex is still under construction, the organization stated in a post last week. Once completed, the area will also have shops, restaurants, and various viewpoints surrounding the statue.

View of the Christ the Protector statue under construction in Encantado, Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil
View of the Christ the Protector statue under construction in Encantado, Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil

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Designed by sculptor Genesio Gomes Moura (Ceara) and his son, Markus Moura, the most notable feature will be an elevator leading to the heart-shaped heart at about 112-feet tall.

"It will be a glass opening where people will be able to film and photograph the Valley," the project's general supervisor Artur Lopes de Souza said at the time of the announcement of the statue.

Without taking pedestals into account, Christ the Protector is the tallest in the world at 123 feet (37.5 meters), as Poland's Christ the King and Bolivia's Cristo de La Concordia are 108 feet (33 meters). Rio's Christ the Redeemer is 98 feet tall, (30 meters) without its boost from its 26-foot pedestal.

View of a Christ statue being built in Encantado, Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil
View of a Christ statue being built in Encantado, Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil

SILVIO AVILA/Getty Images

Even while being built, the 1,700-ton Cristo Protetor with a 128-foot (39-meter) arm span became a popular attraction, with more than 37,500 people seeing it in the works through guided tours offered on weekends and holidays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. for $20 Brazilian real (about $4 USD).

Encantado and the surrounding area of Vale do Taquari is preparing for more visitors, the organizations noted in March. They also suggest pairing a visit to the new landmark with stops in Porto Alegre about two hours away, Gramado three hours away, and Bento Gonçalves 90 minutes away.