A 182-ft statue of the Virgin Mary believed to be the tallest depiction of Mary in Europe has been revealed in the rural Polish village of Konotopie.
Hundreds of people attended the consecration ceremony on Saturday, which coincided with the Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
The statue stands on a 15-metre, crown-shaped pedestal, which includes a viewing platform for visitors.
At 182 ft (55.6m), it is taller than Rio de Janeiro’s Christ the Redeemer, which measures 38m including its pedestal. It also exceeds Poland’s Christ the King monument in Świebodzin, which stands 52.5m tall including its mound.
A 98m statue of the Virgin Mary in the Philippines remains taller, but the Polish monument is believed to be the largest of its kind in Europe.
Bishop Krzysztof Wętkowski, who consecrated the statue, said "many contemporary people look only to the earth, focused on themselves", while the figure encouraged people "to raise our gaze upwards to God and heaven".
The statue was commissioned by businessman Roman Karkosik and his wife, Grażyna, who live in a small palace a few miles from Konotopie. Karkosik made his fortune through business and investments on the Warsaw stock exchange.
The couple said the monument was built as an expression of their gratitude to God.
“The statue will be for all people,” Grażyna Karkosik said. “Each of us coming to see it will think more deeply about their own lives, not only about God.”
The inauguration comes as the influence of the Catholic Church in Polish public life has declined, particularly among younger people and in cities. Still, the Church remains influential in rural communities and among older generations and the nation is the homeland of Pope John Paul II.
Wiesław Mering, a Polish Roman Catholic prelate who attended the ceremony, said: “I cannot help but notice the weakening of the institution of the church, a withdrawal of specific social categories from Catholicism, and this hurts me. The history of Christianity has ups and downs, but this place is a reminder that Mary won’t give up on Poland.”
Among those attending was former president Lech Wałęsa, who led the Solidarity movement that helped end communist rule in Poland and later became the country's first democratically elected president.
Wałęsa, 82, famously wore a Black Madonna pin during his political campaigning and has credited his Catholic faith with giving him strength in his fight against communism.
