The tallest statue of the Virgin Mary in Europe will be consecrated in Poland.
On the Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (August 15), the 55.6-meter-tall (180 feet) statue in the Polish town of Konotopie will be consecrated by Bishop Krzysztof Wętkowski after 1 1/2 years of construction.
Even before the official opening, visitors have been flocking to the statue daily, said the leader of the small town, Mieczysław Grębicki, in an interview with Euronews last Monday.
The sculpture consists of a statue of the Virgin Mary that, at 40.8 meters (133 feet), is about two meters taller than the famous Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro. With its 15-meter-high (49 feet) pedestal shaped like a crown, the structure stands 55.6 meters (182.4 feet) tall. However, while it is the largest Marian statue in Europe, the world’s tallest depiction of the Blessed Virgin is the Mother of All Asia – Tower of Peace in Batangas City, Philippines, which stands at 98.15 meters (322 feet) tall.
The statue in Konotopie was funded by entrepreneur and multimillionaire Roman Karkosik and his wife. He lives just over a mile from the town of Konotopie and can see the statue directly from his estate. He told the Financial Times that he had the statue erected “out of gratitude to Mary.” The exact cost of construction is unknown. Estimates put the cost at around 23 million euros ($26.5 million).
Konotopie was chosen as the location for the statue by the Karkosiks because of its proximity to the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Sorrows, which is famous for housing a miraculous wooden statue of Mary. The statue and sanctuary are known for reported healings and graces, including miraculous recoveries from serious illnesses. The shrine, which has been a local pilgrimage site since the 19th century, was reconstructed and expanded thanks to the funding of Karkosik and his wife in 2011.