before the construction, between 1880 and 1900
Vincentian priest Pedro Maria Boss first suggested placing a Christian monument on Mount Corcovado in the mid-1850s to honor
Princess Isabel, regent of Brazil and the daughter of
Emperor Pedro II, but the project was not approved. The Catholic Circle of Rio made a second proposal for a landmark statue on the mountain in 1920. Eventually, the statue of Christ the
Redeemer with open arms, a symbol of peace, was chosen. Local engineer
Heitor da Silva Costa and artist Carlos Oswald designed the statue. French sculptor
Paul Landowski created the work. In 1922, Landowski commissioned fellow Parisian
Romanian sculptor
Gheorghe Leonida, who studied sculpture at the Fine Arts Conservatory in Bucharest and in Italy. A group of engineers and technicians studied Landowski's submissions, and they felt building the structure out of
reinforced concrete (designed by
Albert Caquot) instead of steel was more suitable for the
cross-shaped statue. The concrete making up the base was supplied from
Limhamn, Sweden. The outer layers are
soapstone, chosen for its enduring qualities and ease of use. In October 2006, on the 75th anniversary of the statue's completion,
Cardinal Eusebio Oscar Scheid,
Archbishop of Rio, consecrated a
chapel, named after Brazil's patron saint—
Our Lady of the Apparition—under the statue, allowing Catholics to hold baptisms and weddings there.In 2010, a massive restoration of the statue began. Work included cleaning, replacing the mortar and soapstone on the exterior, restoring iron in the internal structure, and waterproofing the monument. Vandals attacked the statue during renovation, spraying paint along the arm. Mayor
Eduardo Paes called the act "a crime against the nation". The culprits later apologized and presented themselves to the police. In reference to Brazilian striker
Ronaldo's usual
goal celebration of both arms outstretched, the
Pirelli tyre company ran a 1998 commercial in which he replaced the statue while in an
Inter Milan strip. The commercial was controversial with the Catholic Church. ==Restoration==