"Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why violent video games should not be banned"? Get the original essayPriest Pedro Maria suggested building a Christian monument on Mount Corcovado in the 1850s in honor of Princess Isabella, princess of Brazil and daughter of Emperor Peter II, but the project died due to lack of support. In 1889, Spain became a republic and has since. With the separation of church and state, the idea for the statue died out. The Catholic Circle of Rio made another attempt at a historic statue on the mountain in 1920. The group organized an event called " "Monument Week" to obtain donations and signatures to help build the statue. The motivation for the organization was what they perceived as "ungodliness" in society at the time The donations came mainly from Brazilian Catholics. The designs envisaged for the “Christ Statue” included a representation of the cross, a statue of Jesus with the earth in his hands and a pedestal symbolizing the world. The statue of Christ the Redeemer with open arms, a symbol of peace, was chosen. Local engineer Heitor da Silva Costa designed the statue. French sculptor Paul Landowski created the work. In 1922, Landowski hired fellow Parisian sculptor Gheorghe Leonida. Leonida's depiction of Christ's face made him famous. A group of engineers and technicians studied Landowski's proposals and thought that building the structure out of concrete rather than steel was more appropriate for the cross-shaped statue. The outer layers are made of soapstone, chosen for its durable qualities. Construction took nine years, from 1922 to 1931 and cost the equivalent of US$250,000 (equivalent to $3,400,000 in 2017) and the monument was dedicated on October 12, 1931. During the opening ceremony , the statue was to be illuminated by a battery of lit spotlights. lit remotely by Italian inventor Guglielmo Marconi, stationed 9,200 km away in Rome, but due to bad weather the lights were activated on site. In 2006, on the occasion of the statue's 75th anniversary, the Archbishop of Rio, Cardinal Eusebio Oscar Scheid, dedicated a chapel under the statue, named after the patron saint of Brazil, allowing Catholics to celebrate there. baptisms and weddings. Lightning struck the statue during a thunderstorm in February. January 10, 2008, causing some damage to his fingers, head and eyebrows. The Rio de Janeiro state government has launched a restoration effort to replace some of the exterior layers of soapstone and repair the statue's lightning rods. Lightning damaged it again on January 17, 2014, dislodging a finger from his right hand. In 2010, a massive restoration of the statue began. The works included cleaning, replacing mortar and soapstone on the exterior, restoring iron to the internal structure and waterproofing the monument. Vandals attacked the statue during its renovation, spraying paint along the arm. Mayor Eduardo Paes called the act a "crime against the nation." The culprits later apologized and reported to the police. In 2015, two Russian and Ukrainian urban explorers, Vadim Makhorov and Vitaly Raskalov of Ontheroofs, scaled the statue with video footage and photos captured. Keep in mind: this is just a sample. Get a personalized paper now from our expert writers. Get a personalized essay"