The 55.6-meter concrete monument stands in the village of Konotopie, near the city of Toruń, amid wheat fields on land owned by Karkosik, one of Poland’s wealthiest industrialists.
The statue is taller than the 36-meter Christ the King statue in Świebodzin, western Poland, which reaches 52.5 meters when its artificial mound is included. It also surpasses the 38-meter Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
The new statue was consecrated Saturday, August 15, on the Catholic Feast of the Assumption, one of the Catholic Church's major Marian celebrations.
The Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, observed annually on August 15 by the Roman Catholic Church, celebrates the belief that Mary, the mother of Jesus, was taken into heaven at the end of her earthly life. Photo: Wojciech Korfanty Regional Institute of Culture, CC BY 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
Regional Bishop Krzysztof Wętkowski blessed the Monument of Our Lady of Mercy in Konotopie, near the town of Lipno in Poland's north-central Kujawsko-Pomorskie province, Polish state news agency PAP reported.
Bishop Krzysztof Wętkowski. Photo: PAP/Agnieszka Bielecka
Former Polish President Lech Wałęsa attended the ceremony.
Former Polish President Lech Wałęsa. Photo: PAP/Agnieszka Bielecka
The monument was funded by Karkosik and his wife Grażyna as a personal votive offering—a religious gift made in gratitude—for what they described as a "return to health and life."
Billionaire industrialist Roman Karkosik (left) with wife Grażyna (center). Photo: PAP/Agnieszka Bielecka
Bishop Wętkowski said during the ceremony that the modern world could become more beautiful through the spread of mercy.
After the blessing, two helicopters circled the monument and scattered red rose petals.
The ceremony concluded with a performance by the Mazowsze National Folk Song and Dance Ensemble.
The ceremony included a performance by Poland's renowned Mazowsze Folk Song and Dance Ensemble. Photo: PAP/Agnieszka Bielecka
The monument includes a viewing terrace 15.3 meters above the ground, which visitors can reach by stairs or elevator. The figure of the Virgin Mary rises from the terrace.
The reinforced-concrete structure, finished in white, stands in a field alongside the main road linking Warsaw with the northwestern city of Szczecin.
It was designed by sculptor Adam Jakub Matejkowski, 73, who works in brass, wood, stone and mixed media.
The Financial Times has described the project as "almost pharaonic," noting that its setting in rural Poland underscores the Catholic Church’s enduring role in the country’s public life, particularly in conservative regions that support the right-wing Law and Justice (PiS) party.
(rt/gs)
Source: IAR/PAP, ft.com