SWIEBODZIN, Poland - A gigantic statue of Jesus that Poles claim is one of the world's largest rose majestically above a small town on Saturday, as the grandiose dream of a local priest finally came to pass.
The white statue with outstretched arms and golden crown rising above the western Polish plains in Swiebodzin provides competition to Rio de Janiero's iconic Christ the Redeemer.
The mayor of this western Polish town, Dariusz Bekisz, claims it is now the world's tallest. Rev. Sylwester Zawadzki, the 78-year-old priest who created the statue, said it rises 108 feet, or 33 meters - one meter for every year that Jesus lived.
By comparison, the statue in Brazil's Rio is 125 feet (38 meters) tall.
While it wasn't possible to verify the exact height of the new statue, there was no doubt that "Christ the King," as the golden-crowned Polish statue is called, cut an imposing sight.
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Many residents believe it will put their town of 22,000 on the map for tourists and Roman Catholic pilgrims.
