Europe's tallest statue of the Virgin Mary is inaugurated in a small Polish village
- A statue of the Virgin Mary believed to be Europe’s tallest was inaugurated in Konotopie, a village in central Poland.
- The monument stands 55.6 meters (182 feet) tall, including a 15-meter crown-shaped pedestal.
- Hundreds of people attended the consecration ceremony, which included Mass, helicopter drops of red rose petals, and performances by the Mazowsze folk ensemble.
- Lech Walesa, Poland’s former president and anti-communist Solidarity leader, attended the event.
- The statue was financed by local millionaires Roman and Grażyna Karkosik as a way of giving thanks to God.
- The report notes that a taller Virgin Mary statue exists in the Philippines, but the new Polish monument is believed to be the largest of its kind in Europe.
An enormous statue of the Virgin Mary was inaugurated on Saturday in Konotopie, a small village in central Poland. The monument is believed to be Europe’s tallest statue of the Virgin Mary and rises 55.6 meters, including its crown-shaped pedestal.
Hundreds of people attended the consecration ceremony. Priests celebrated Mass, helicopters scattered miniature red roses over the crowd, and the Mazowsze folk ensemble performed traditional Polish music.
Lech Walesa, the Nobel Peace Prize-winning anti-communist leader and former Polish president, attended the ceremony. He told The Associated Press that the event felt like the end of a long personal journey, saying he had started and ended with the Virgin Mary.
The statue was commissioned by Roman and Grażyna Karkosik, local millionaires who financed the project. The report says the new monument is taller than several other well-known religious statues in Poland and elsewhere, though a larger statue of the Virgin Mary exists in the Philippines.
波兰小村庄落成欧洲最高的圣母玛利亚雕像
一座巨大的圣母玛利亚雕像于周六在波兰中部小村庄 Konotopie 落成启用。该雕像被认为是欧洲最高的圣母玛利亚雕像，高 55.6 米，其中包括一个皇冠形底座。
数百人参加了祝圣仪式。现场有神父举行弥撒，直升机向人群撒下微型红玫瑰花瓣，Mazowsze 民俗团体也演出了波兰传统音乐。
诺贝尔和平奖得主、前波兰总统、反共产主义领袖莱赫·瓦文萨出席了仪式。他对美联社表示，这一时刻像是自己长期旅程的终点，并说自己“从圣母玛利亚开始，也以圣母玛利亚结束”。
这座雕像由当地富商罗曼和格拉日娜·卡尔科西克夫妇出资建造。报道还提到，这座新雕像高于波兰和其他地区一些著名宗教雕像，但菲律宾有一座更高的圣母玛利亚雕像。