125-Foot Christ Statue Now Lit Up with Jaw-Dropping Coronavirus Message
Brazil’s iconic Christ the Redeemer statue was lit up Wednesday with flags from countries and images of continents affected by the coronavirus.
The 125-foot tall monument, constructed over a 9-year period in the 1920s and early 30s, sits atop Mount Corcovado overlooking the city of Rio de Janeiro.
The statue, which nearly 2 million people flock to every year, was closed to the public by authorities last week in order to prevent the spread of COVID-19, the New York Post reported.
There were more than 1,000 confirmed cases of the virus in Brazil as of Saturday, according to Johns Hopkins University, including at least 286 cases in Sao Paulo and 66 in Rio.
On Friday, the Brazilian government declared a state of emergency, the U.K. Daily Mail reported.
In addition to flags, the phrase “pray together” was also projected onto the statue in multiple languages on Wednesday, according to Fox News.
Brazil’s Christ the Redeemer statue was illuminated with images of continents and flags in a show of solidarity with countries grappling with the coronavirus pandemic. More on our live blog: https://t.co/3uc2RSEjBO pic.twitter.com/xAnVy5kt9x
— Reuters (@Reuters) March 19, 2020
Las banderas de los 166 países en los que se han registrado casos del #coronavirus #covid fueron proyectadas en el Santuario del Cristo Redentor, la gigantesca estatua que corona el cerro del #Corcovado en Río de Janeiro
Fotos: EFE pic.twitter.com/kPloNYeCG3
— El Comercio (@elcomerciocom) March 19, 2020
Rio’s Christ the Redeemer statue lit up in solidarity with all the countries affected by the coronavirus crisis. https://t.co/m3IW3ZIoa6 pic.twitter.com/4A31F0aEh9
— ABC News (@ABC) March 19, 2020
On Wednesday night, Rio de Janeiro’s Catholic archbishop, Orani João Tempesta, held mass and offered a benediction at the foot of the monument, according to CNN.
?VIDEO: The Blessed Sacrament was exposed at the feet of the famous Christ the Redeemer of Brazil to ask God to bless all the #coronavirus sufferers. The monument was illuminated with the flags of the countries affected by this pandemic. pic.twitter.com/Ig9UDaBpET
— EWTN News (@EWTNews) March 20, 2020
Historically speaking, Brazil is one of the most Catholic countries in the world, thanks largely to the evangelization efforts of 16th-century Jesuit missionaries.
Today, almost 65 percent of Brazilians practice Roman Catholicism, while roughly 22 percent adhere to some form of Protestantism.
While it might be tempting for some to take offense to the projection of images onto a religious statue, it seems to me an acceptable response to the threat posed by the coronavirus outbreak.
Indeed, when I first saw the Christ the Redeemer statue lit up with the different flags of the world, I thought of the Apostle Paul’s letter to the Galatians, where he says there is “neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free … for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”
That passage rings particularly true today.
There is neither American nor Italian, neither Chinese nor British, nor German or French, for all suffering from the coronavirus can be one in Christ Jesus.
Now is the time to take up the call to prayer and beg God for mercy, guidance and wisdom during this crisis.
Faith can move mountains, and Christians, whatever their country of origin or ethnic heritage is, must never forget that.
Christ is king of all nations and all peoples.
Let them turn to him, together, in this time of great need.
CORRECTION, March 25, 2020: This article originally referred to Rio de Janeiro as the current capital of Brazil. We apologize to our readers for the error.
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