The tallest statue of Mary in Europe has been unveiled in a small Polish village.
The 55-meter-high statue, which was inaugurated on Saturday, towers over Konotopie in the center Polandwhere fewer than 150 inhabitants live.
In a ceremony inaugurated by a bishop, helicopters scattered small red roses over the huge crowd, priests in white robes celebrated Mass and the popular Mazowsze folk ensemble sang and danced to traditional Polish music.
The £20 million monument took around 18 months to build and is larger than the statue of Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro. Brazilwhich stands at 125 feet including the pedestal.
It is also taller than the Christ the King statue in the western Polish town of Swiebodzin, which was unveiled in 2010 and rises about 50 meters above the ground.
But the tallest statue of the Virgin Mary is in the Philippines, which is 100 meters high.
Lech Walesa, a former Polish president who won the Nobel Peace Prize for his leadership in Poland’s anti-communist resistance, sat in the front row at the inauguration.
“This is the end of my path,” Walesa, 82, said, suggesting that the causes he has long championed, including democracy and the Catholic faith, are now complete.
A picturesque Polish village has unveiled Europe’s tallest statue of Mary
The 55-metre-high statue was inaugurated on Saturday and towered over Konotopie in central Poland, home to fewer than 150 residents.
The £20 million monument took around 18 months to build and is taller than the statue of Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, which stands 40 meters tall including its pedestal.
“I started with the Virgin Mary and I will end with the Virgin Mary,” he added.
The vast majority of Poles identify as Catholic, and the church played an important role in public life after the fall of communism in 1989, benefiting from the prestige it earned through its support of the anti-communist opposition.
The influence of religion on public life has gradually declined in recent years, especially among young people and in urban areas.
However, the Catholic Church remains influential, especially in rural communities and among older generations.
“I cannot help but notice the weakening of the institution of the Church, a withdrawal of specific social categories from Catholicism, and this pains me,” said Bishop Wieslaw Mering, a Polish Roman Catholic prelate who attended the ceremony.
“The history of Christianity has its ups and downs, but this place reminds us that Mary will not give up on Poland,” the bishop said.
The statue was commissioned by local millionaires Roman and Grazyna Karkosik. The couple lives in a small palace a few kilometers from Konotopie.
The vast majority of Poles identify as Catholic, and the church played an important role in public life after the fall of communism in 1989, benefiting from the prestige it earned through its support of the anti-communist opposition.
Local authorities hope the monument will become an important pilgrimage site as well as a tourist destination
Roman Karkosik, an entrepreneur whose activities included the production of plastic bottles in the 1990s, amassed a fortune by investing on the Warsaw Stock Exchange and became one of Poland’s richest individuals.
The couple has said the monument is an expression of their gratitude to God.
“The statue will be for all people,” Ms. Karkosik said.
“Each of us who come to see it will think more deeply about our own lives, not just about God.”
Local authorities hope the monument will become an important pilgrimage site as well as a tourist destination. The statue has a viewing platform built into the base.
