In brief
A massive 55.6‑metre concrete Virgin Mary statue has been unveiled in Konotopie, a small village in Poland, overtaking Christ the Redeemer in height. The consecration took place on the Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin, with the statue's design featuring an open crown and arm stance. The ceremony, attended by former President Lech Wałęsa, underscores a renewed appeal of Catholic imagery amid a declining church influence in public life.
A statue of the Virgin Mary believed to be Europe’s tallest has been formally unveiled in a small Polish village.
The 55.6‑metre (182 ft) concrete figure is roughly two double‑decker buses longer than Rio de Janeiro’s smaller – if more prominently placed – Christ the Redeemer monument, though it still pales in comparison to a 98 m Virgin Mary erected in the Philippines.
The ecclesiastical sculpture in rural Konotopie was consecrated by a local bishop in a ceremony on Saturday, a day chosen to coincide with the Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Its inauguration comes at a time when the influence of the Catholic church on public life in Poland has declined.
The icon’s remote location – in a field miles from any of Poland’s population centres – is largely due to it being commissioned by a millionaire couple who live locally.
Two helicopters circled to drop rose petals over the Virgin Mary, which stands in a large crown with open arms, during Saturday’s ceremony.
Bishop Krzysztof Wętkowski, who consecrated the statue, told those congregated that many contemporary people look only to the earth, focused on themselves, whereas the figure beckoned to raise our gaze upwards to God and heaven.
While Poland remains an overwhelmingly Catholic country, many younger Poles in urban areas have increasingly turned away from the church and its traditions.
Among the attendees on Saturday was Lech Wałęsa, who led the movement to end communism in Poland and would go on to become the country’s first democratically elected president.
Wałęsa famously wore a Virgin Mary pin badge while campaigning and credited his Catholic faith as playing a major role in his fight against communism.
I started with the Virgin Mary and I end with the Virgin Mary, the 82‑year‑old said the Associated Press.
