If you were in Rio de Janeiro but did not pay attention to the statue of Christ the Redeemer on the top of the Corcovado mountain, you missed the most important attraction of the city.

The symbol of Rio de Janeiro and the country was erected, opened, and consecrated in 1931. Originally, the idea of its creation came from Vincentian Catholic priest Pedro Maria Boss. In 1859, he was in Rio de Janeiro, where he fell in love with Corcovado. The mountain impressed and inspired him so much that he offered to erect a Jesus Christ monument on it. At the time, the idea of the Holy Father did not receive adequate support, but he returned to it later, when a serrated railway was already laid at the peak of the mountain and a great holiday – 100 years since the country's independence – was approaching.

The first sketch of the statue was created by the Brazilian artist Carlos Oswald. He was the one who had the idea of spreading the arms of Jesus Christ as if he was embracing the whole world. Thanks to this decision, the monument looks like a huge evangelical cross from afar. Also, the original version of the statue was supposed to stand on a pedestal in the shape of a globe, but this idea was abandoned due to the complexity of implementation.

The final version of the monument belongs to Brazilian engineer Heitor da Silva Costa, who designed the 30-meter monument on an 8-meter pedestal.

Today it is one of the highest Art Deco statues in the world. It is made of a mix of reinforced concrete and soapstone and has an impressive weight of 635 tonnes and a 28-meter width due to the hands' position.

For technical reasons, the monument was produced in France. Sculptor Paul Landowski was involved in modeling its individual parts, while the Romanian master Gheorghe Leonida created them. Then all the parts were delivered to Brazil, sent by rail to the top of the mountain and were put together.

On the opening day of the monument, Brazilians from all over the country gathered in Rio de Janeiro. It was a grand event that is still remembered today. Night came unexpectedly. It seemed as if darkness had taken over everything around, as an unexpected bright spotlight illuminated the majestic statue of Christ the Redeemer, which seemed to float above the city.

Today the monument is on the list of modern wonders of the world and symbolizes warmth, tolerance, and God's love for people.