SWIEBODZIN, Poland, Nov. 7 (UPI) -- Poland is now home to what is local proponents say is the largest statue of Jesus Christ in the world.
Polskie Radio reported a huge crane was used to install the head and arms on the statue Saturday in Swiebodzin, completing the construction that began five years ago. The statue weighs about 440 tons.
The 33-meter-tall (108 feet) statue in Swiebodzin reaches to a height of 51 meters (167 feet) when its base is included.
The Rev. Sylwester Zawadzki, who came up with the concept of creating a statue 33 meters tall -- a meter for each year Jesus lived -- began to cry upon seeing his work completed, the Polish newspaper Gazeta Wyborcza reported.
"The erection of the monument was a vocation for me," he said. "Christ has revealed to me and told me to do it. That is what happened."
The Cristo de la Concordia statue of Jesus Christ in Cochabamba, Bolivia, is 112.2 feet tall and rises to 132.7 feet when its pedestal is included.
The Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, is 130 feet tall.
