Christ the Redeemer

Use the words in the box to complete the text.

landmarks	tourists	Wonders	Portugal
railway	Corcovado	Pope	five	Catholic
French	engineer	200	statue	cross

A landmark in Rio de Janeiro

In Portuguese, it is called Cristo Redentor. This monument is a colossal __________ of Jesus Christ at the summit¹ of Mount __________ in Rio de Janeiro, in the southeast of Brazil. It was completed in 1931. It stands 98 feet (30 meters) tall and its horizontally outstretched² arms spanning³ 92 feet (28 meters). It weighs around 635 tons.

The statue is made of reinforced concrete clad⁴ in a mosaic of thousands of triangular soapstone tiles⁵ from Sweden, sits on a square stone pedestal base about 26 feet (8 meters) high, which itself is situated on a deck atop the mountain’s summit. The statue is the largest Art Deco-style sculpture in the world and is one of Rio de Janeiro’s most recognizable __________.

The making of the statue

In 1850s the priest⁶ Pedro Maria Boss suggested⁷ placing a Christian monument on Mount Corcovado to honour Isabel, princess regent⁸ of Brazil and the daughter of Emperor Pedro II, although⁹ the project was never approved.

Later, in 1921 the Roman __________ archdiocese of Rio de Janeiro proposed that a statue of Christ be built on the 2,310-foot (704-meter) summit, which, because of its commanding height¹⁰, would make it visible from anywhere in Rio. Citizens petitioned the president to allow the construction and finally, to commemorate Brazil’s independence from __________ the foundation stone¹¹ was placed on April 4, 1922.



The design

That same year a competition was held¹² to find a designer, and the Brazilian __________ Heitor da Silva Costa was chosen for his sketches of a figure of Christ holding a __________ in his left hand and the world in his right. In collaboration with Brazilian artist Carlos Oswald, Silva Costa later amended¹³ the plan; Oswald has been credited with the idea for the figure’s standing pose with arms spreads wide. The __________ sculptor Paul Landowski, who collaborated with Silva Costa on the final design, has been credited as the primary designer of the figure’s head and hands.

For years, funds¹⁴ were raised privately, mainly by the church and finally, under Silva Costa’s supervision, construction began in 1926 and continued for __________ years. During that time materials and workers were transported to the summit via __________. The statue was completed on October 12, 1931.

Over the years, it has undergone¹⁵ periodic repairs and renovations, including a thorough¹⁶ cleaning in 1980, in preparation for the visit of __________ John Paul II to Brazil that year, and a major project in 2019, when the surface was repaired and refurbished.

Escalators and panoramic elevators were added in 2002; previously in order to reach the statue itself, __________ climbed more than ______ steps as the last stage of the trip. In 2006, to mark the statue’s 75th anniversary, a chapel¹⁷ at its base was consecrated¹⁸ to Our Lady of Aparecida, the patron saint of Brazil. On July 2007, the statue was inducted¹⁹ as one of the Seven __________ of the modern world.

Adapted from www.britannica.com/topic/Christ-the-Redeemer (2016)
Teacher Vladimir Hernández Cervantes
Last modified: May 2020

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¹ at the summit = en la cima
² outstretched = extendido
³ spanning = atravesando
⁴ concrete clad = revestido de concreto
⁵ soapstone tiles = azulejo esteatita
⁶ padre de la iglesia
⁷ suggested = suirió
⁸ Princess regent = princesa regente
⁹ although = a pesar de
¹⁰ commanding height = altura dominante
¹¹ foundation stone = la primera piedra
¹² was held = fue realizada
¹³ ammended = corrigió
¹⁴ funds = donativos
¹⁵ has undergone = ha sufrido
¹⁶ thorough = a detalle
¹⁷ chapel = capilla
¹⁸ consecrated = consagrada
¹⁹ inducted = introducido

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