It is listed as one of the "New Seven Wonders of the World" and has become one of Brazil's most famous landmarks. Measuring 124 feet tall with an arm span of 92 feet wide, it is almost as big as the Statue of Liberty.

According to the BBC, in the early 20th century a local group in Rio called the Catholic Circle saw a need to reclaim the city for Christ.

"In the wake of World War One, [Catholic Circle] feared an advancing tide of godlessness. Church and state had been separated when Brazil became a republic at the end of the previous century, and they saw the statue as a way of reclaiming Rio - then Brazil's capital city - for Christianity."

The project was then taken up by the Archdiocese of Rio, which proposed it, and a petition was created to convince the president to allow it to take shape.

After it was approved, the group brainstormed various ideas and locations, finally deciding on the summit of Corcovado. Brazilian engineer Heitor da Silva Costa had a grandiose plan for the statue and wanted it to be a worthy monument to Jesus Christ.

"The statue of the divine savior shall be the first image to emerge from the obscurity in which the earth is plunged and to receive the salute of the star of the day which, after surrounding it with its radiant luminosity, shall build at sunset around its head a halo fit for the Man-God."

In order for the statue to be visible, da Silva Costa knew it had to be big and he needed help to realize his idea. He teamed up with Polish-French sculptor Paul Landowski, who created a clay statue that was shipped and reproduced in Rio using concrete.

At first da Silva Costa did not like the use of concrete to create the Art Deco statue, but eventually agreed to it, using soapstone for the exterior layers. Continue reading

Sources

• Article by Philip Kosloski, staff writer at Aleteia.
• Image: The Guardian

The Rio Archdiocese, owner of the statue, has entrusted the work to a group of abseiling eigineers, to avoid the use of scaffolds, and allow visits to continue while repairs are underway. Archbishop Orani Tempesta blessed the workers on Friday.

The statue of Christ the Redeemer on Corcovado mountain in the Tijuca Forest National Park, is considered to be the largest Art Deco figure in the world. It is 30 metres tall, not including its eight metres pedestal, and its arms stretch 28 metres wide. It weighs 635 tonnes. Continue reading

As in previous years, there has been little to no critical evaluation from inside the church as to the effectiveness and impact of the World Youth Day. While this youth festival corresponds well with the media-driven culture of globalization, several questions must be asked.

• Is it the most effective use of our limited resources?
• What theologies and ecclesiologies are reflected in the World Youth Day?
• Is the organization of the program done in a transparent, participatory and ethical manner?
• What is the impact of the WYD on the local economy and the global environment (carbon footprint)?
• More importantly perhaps, what is the real impact of the World Youth Day on the poor?

An excellent article by Philippe Vaillancourt in Quebec, puts it this way:

Since the arrival of Pope Francis, we saw the papacy question habits and adopt a new style…[However] WYD is strongly marked by obscene spending in the context of universal Catholicism, a paradoxical undeniable ecological footprint and a mixed impact. Recognizing this, a simple question arises: is the current formula for WYD still morally acceptable within the Church? Asking this question is ultimately to take an interest in the credibility that the Church wants to have in the eyes of young people. Continue reading

Sources

• Kevin J. Ahern in Daily Theology
• Image: Caritas Blog

Kevin J. Ahern will begin work as a professor of religious studies at Manhattan College in 2013.

There are close to 50 kiwi pilgrims, representing all the dioceses in New Zealand, making the 19 day World Youth Day pilgrimage.

It began with 5 days in Santiago, Chile, where the pilgrims were billeted in local parishes, giving them an introduction to Chilean cuisine and culture.

During their stay in Santiago they were hosted by the St Columban's Mission Society and were given a taste of the work the Columbans do with the poor and under-privileged throughout the city. They had an opportunity to visit the shanty towns.

The pilgrims arrived in Rio for orientation, and the opening Mass which took place on Tuesday in the cold wind on Copacabana beach and was attended by an estimated 400,000 pilgrims. Rio Archbishop Orani Joao Tempesta was the presiding celebrant.

On Wednesday and Thursday the focus was on Catechesis with the Bishops

On Thursday evening (New Zealand time) there was be a Papal Welcoming Ceremony at Copacabana.

On Saturday they will take part in a Vigil Sleep Out at the Santa Cruz Air base before attending the final Mass on Sunday at Campus Fidei.

The Christchurch World Youth Day web page says that the pilgrims will begin the journey home on Monday 29, stopping off in Buenos Aires in Argentina where they will have a time of "retreat and recreation" allowing them to "unwind and reflect on the amazing past days in Santiago and the Rio WYD week."

"We will have times of prayer and reflection while soaking up all that this city has to offer."

On Thursday 1st August they will board the plane for New Zealand arriving on Saturday 3rd August.

Source

• NZCBC
• The Diocese of Christchurch
• The Catholic Herald

As the press centre fills, the first reports filter out of the Pope's remarks to journalists accompanying him on the plane. The familiar Alitalia A330 touches down on the airport tarmac flying the Vatican and local flags from its cockpit; state officials and bishops form a welcoming committee; the Pope emerges, is greeted, is whisked away in a limousine to the city centre, where he climbs into the "popemobile" for a tour of streets lined with well-wishers. Then comes the welcoming ceremony in which the president or prime minister addresses him, and he gives a speech in response.

Soon after the press centre fills with Italian voices and veteran journalists as the dozens of VAMPS - journalists working for the major agencies, permanently accredited to the Holy See Press Office, who sit at the back of the papal plane - arrive. Father Frederico Lombardi, the Vatican spokesman, breaks away from the papal entourage to give a briefing to the press corps that helps shape the first stories.

True to form, all of this happened yesterday. Yet Pope Francis's arrival in Rio de Janeiro - just before that of the royal baby - managed to be strikingly different from what we have been used to in papal trips. Once he was in the air - after carrying his own bag onto the plane - he rejected the usual interview with pre-prepared questions in order to meet the reporters one by one, asking them about their families, getting to know them and telling them, jokingly, that journalists are not the saints he is most devoted to. In a flight in which he remained permanently active - "this pope has an extraordinary energy," Father Lombardi remarked - he also visited the cockpit for 15 minutes to chat with the pilots shortly before landing.

But he still gave journalists their story, making some important criticisms of a throwaway culture in which the jobless young are set aside. "The world crisis is not treating young people well," the Pope said. "We are running the risk of having a generation that does not work. From work comes a person's dignity." Continue reading

Sources

• Austen Ivereigh in ABC Religion and Ethics
• Image: BBC

Austen Ivereigh is a Catholic journalist and the co-ordinator of Catholic Voices.

Last June, over 100 governments gathered at the United Nations Conference on the Environment and Development (UNCED) in city of Rio de Janiero to address the inseparable concerns of the environment, development, and poverty. Although the results of UNCED, otherwise known as the Earth Summit, are difficult to evaluate, it is still necessary to attempt to do so. In general, UNCED was not as comprehensive and effective as it hopes to be. Why we say this is the subject of this article.

Moral commitment

The Earth Summit sought to achieve the strengthening of objectives and the binding of action to sustain life. Instead, only selected concerns and their operationalization were agreed upon without specific targets or timetables. Twenty years after the Stockholm Conference where the participating countries developed the moral vision of urging unity of action to protect our fragile globe, UNCED has been little else but a forum to exchange development concerns. To illustrate this weakening moral vision, we shall cite how one issue (nuclear weapons) and one situation (the World Bank) were treated during the Conference.

The Stockholm Declaration called for the elimination of nuclear weapons. UNCED failed, however, to approve a paper on nuclear power and to affirm the condemnation of nuclear weapons, even if the global power struggle today has been diminished.

For the last 30 years, the model for development operationalized by the World Bank has been criticized by non-government organizations working closely with the poor. True, the World Bank was heavily funding energy programs, particularly those concerned with global warming. At the same time, however, it was also fueling the poverty of millions and adding to the environmental problem. Yet the World Bank remained virtually unchallenged by governments, even during the Conference. Read more

Sources

• ESSCNews
• Image: Brazil Surf Travel

For the past six months, the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) along with Norway and Iceland, and Catholics for Choice and the International Planned Parenthood Federation, have worked feverishly to take advantage of the Rio +20 conference on sustainable development in order to promote both an international right to abortion and population control. Continue reading (News release)

"Rio awaits you with open arms," organizers said as they urge young people to come to Brazil, participate in the event and show the strength of young people around the world.

The only place to register for the 2013, July 23-28 summer event is online at the WYD2013 website.

Pope Benedict XVI is expected to attend.

"The registration page is the entryway into WYD Rio 2013. All pilgrims who come to the event must first register, and from there WYD welcomes them all," said director of registration Sister Shaiane Machado.

She also said group registrations should be for a maximum of 50 young people. Groups larger than 50 should be divided up, Sr Machado added, noting that the process will be explained in detail on the section of the site created for group registrations.

Sources

• WYD 2013
• CNA
• Image: WYD 2013

At the request of Cardinal Stanislaw Rylko, president of the Pontifical Council for the Laity, and to help young people prepare to participate in World Youth Day, a "week of missions" will be held in Brazil from July 17-20, 2013.

The "Week of Missions" replaces what had become the "Days in the Dioceses" programme and its purpose is to give young people the chance to participate in spiritual activities, works of solidarity and missionary and cultural events.

According to WYD organiser, Raphael Fritz, the programme will give World Youth Day pilgrims a more authentic experience of what life is like locally.

Fr Jefferson Goncalves, director of the pre-World Youth Day activities hopes the "Week of Missions" will be a "legacy to future World Youth Days," and lead young people into missionary discipleship.

Also in preparation for WYD, the traditional World Youth Day Cross and an icon of Mary has been travelling around Brazil since September 18, 2011, and to mark the event, organisers have announced a free smartdevice App called "Follow the Cross", or "Siga a Cruz" in Portuguese.

Available for iPhones, iPods, iPads and Android phones "Siga a Cruz," allows users to track the WYD pilgrim cross and icon of Mary as it makes its way around Brazil.

The App also allows users to interact with friends on Twitter and Facebook.

The WYD cross and icon of Mary will visit each diocese in the vast and highly Catholic Brazil as well as dioceses in the surrounding countries of Argentina, Uruguay, Chile and Paraguay.

Sources

• Vatican Radio
• CNA
• WYD Rio 2013
• Image: WYD Central