Lima, Peru, Jun 13, 2011 / 15:53 pm
The 121-foot-tall “Christ of the Pacific” statue will be unveiled on a hilltop overlooking the city of Lima, Peru on June 29, the Solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul.
The inauguration of the massive statue was announced on June 10 by President Alan Garcia of Peru, who said it was his dream to raise a statue on the Pacific coast similar to the one atop Rio de Janeiro in Brazil. “I have dubbed it the Christ of the Pacific … and on June 29, the day of the Pope and of Sts. Peter and Paul, we will inaugurate this statue.”
The inauguration will also coincide with the 60th anniversary of Pope Benedict XVI’s ordination to the priesthood. The Pope was ordained together with his brother, Msgr. Georg Ratzinger, at the Cathedral of Freising in Germany on June 29, 1951.
According to the Andina news agency, President Garcia said the statue was not built using tax-payer dollars but instead through donations from individuals and companies. Garcia himself donated $36,000 of his own money for the project.
“I want it to be a statue that blesses Peru and protects Lima,” Garcia told RPP News.
The large statue shows Christ standing with his arms extended. It was built in Brazil and then brought to Peru in several pieces. The statue will sit on a 49-foot concrete base and will be illuminated by a 26-color lighting system. It will be visible from every point in the Peruvian capital.