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Giant statue nearly complete

Royal Gazette Staff
Created: Nov 06, 2010 11:00 AM
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Workers prepare to lift a 32-ton head and shoulders to top a giant concrete and metal statue of Jesus in Swiebodzin, western Poland, Friday, Nov.5, 2010. The 108 feet (33 meters) statue is to be the world's tallest and is supposed to attract pilgrims and boost business in the town. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)

SWIEBODZIN, Poland (AP) — A Polish priest is on the verge of realising his dream of erecting the world's largest statue of Jesus Christ in a small town in western Poland.

Attempts were made yesterday to complete the massive statue — which will rise a couple yards higher than the iconic Christ the Redeemer monument in Rio de Janeiro. But heavy winds prevented cranes from lifting the torso, arms and head onto the lower half of the robed white figure.

Workers are planning to try again at dawn today. The mayor of the town of 22,000, Dariusz Bekisz, predicts the imposing white Jesus will soon start drawing in hordes of pilgrims and their money to his town.

The project has divided Poles, many of whom are embarrassed by the Rev. Sylwester Zawadzki's grandiose project.

AP Photo/Czarek SokolowskiControversy: Above and at right, workers prepare to lift a 32-ton head and shoulders to top a giant concrete and metal statue of Jesus in Swiebodzin, western Poland, yesterday. The 108 feet statue is to be the world's tallest and is supposed to attract pilgrims and boost business in the town. The statue has divided opinion in heavily Catholic Poland, with many Poles embarrassed by the Rev. Sylwester Zawadzki's grandiose project.