Hundreds of people attended the sculpture consecration ceremony, including the legendary anti-communist leader Lech Walesa.
The statue, which is 55.6 meters tall, was erected in the village of Konotopa in central Poland, where fewer than 150 people live.
While helicopters scattered tiny red roses over the crowd, priests celebrated Mass, and the popular folk ensemble “Mazowsze” sang and danced to traditional Polish music.
This Polish sculpture is taller – although it stands in a less impressive location – than the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro, which is about 38 meters tall including its pedestal. The height of the statue in Poland includes a 15-meter-high crown-shaped pedestal.
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The new statue of the Virgin Mary also surpasses another large religious monument recently erected in Poland – the statue of Jesus Christ in the western town of Świebodzin, which was unveiled in 2010 and rises about 52 meters above the ground including its pedestal.
A taller statue of the Virgin Mary stands in the Philippines, measuring about 98 meters. However, it is believed that the new sculpture in Poland is the largest statue of this type in Europe.
The local authorities hope that the sculpture will become both an important pilgrimage site and a tourist attraction. An observation platform has been installed in the statue’s pedestal.
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