The Largest Crucifix in the World is Phenomenal

In 2021, when I published the list of the tallest statues of Christ in the world, I didn’t know that there was one taller. First, for reference, the article is Fierce International Competition for Christ Statues, and here’s a quick listing of the tallest six:

#1 – 112 feet – Cochabamba, Bolivia – Christ of Peace (Cristo de la Concordia)

#2 – 108 feet – Świebodzin, Western Poland – Christ the King

#3 – 105 feet – Đông Nam Bộ, Ho Chi Min City, Vietnam – Christ of Vũng Tàu

#4 – 102 feet – Roxas City, Capiz, Philippines – Sacred Heart of Jesus

#5 – 100 feet – Marilao, Bulacan, Philippines – The Divine Mercy

#6 – 99 feet – Rio de Janeiro, Brazil – Christ the Redeemer

(Everyone thinks the Christ the Redeemer statue on Corcovado Mountain in Rio is the tallest. It’s definitely the most famous, but, alas, it only comes in at number 6!)

The difference between these six and the actual tallest statue of Christ is that the tallest one is lying down. The others, as is obvious, are monumental sculptures rising high in the sky. And impressively so.

That is probably also why these upright statues are all images of the risen Christ, the King of Kings and a number of His beautiful titles expressing His goodness and mercy to all. His marvelous invitation, “Come to me all who labor and are heavy burdened, and I will give you rest” (Mt 11:28), is best expressed standing and with open arms.

The image of the Crucified One, however, fittingly rests upon the dust of the earth, perhaps symbolic of His act of taking upon Himself all the sins of Adam’s descendants.

The Reclining Crucifix of Huila

And although there are many large crucifixes throughout the world, none are as massive as the one in Huila, Colombia, which reclines on a hillside upon a cruciform church built as its foundation.

At 262 feet, it’s more than twice the size of the tallest standing statue in Bolivia It also has an arm span of 115 feet—wider than the heights of all the free-standing statues of Christ. Wow.

It’s hard to appreciate the dimensions when the monument sits isolated on a hillside. But to get a perspective on the size, think in terms of a 26-story building! The church underneath it is even larger since it extends beyond the Corpus.

Perhaps an aerial view will give a better perspective. Compare the statue to the sizes of the vehicles at the base of the hill and the kayaks in the reservoir below.

The statue was sculpted by a Colombian artist named Edison Carvajal, who worked with the park’s owner, German Garrido, and an engineer to set up a reinforced steel frame over which concrete and fiberglass were applied to create the massive sculpture. Incredibly, Mr. Carvajal and just one other worker labored for 25 months to finish it. Amazing!

Composition and Concept

In an interview for a local TV station, Mr. Carvajal noted that an incredible amount of materials went into the construction of the statue:

• 22 tons of reinforced iron

• 500 loads of grey cement

• 50 tons of sand

• 140 loads of white cement

• 1 ton of fiberglass

• And 20 iron columns which stabilize the Corpus on top of the church.

The 170-acre area where the sculpture is located was originally intended as an Africa-themed zoo, but the owner didn’t get permission for the exotic animals he wanted to keep on the property.

So he turned it into a religious-themed extreme sports park that includes a Meso-American archeological museum and replicas of the Egyptian pyramids—something that can only happen in Catholic Latin America. They still have a zip line and kayaks in the area!

It seems the enterprise ran out of money about the time they finished the Crucifix (2018), so the owner, Garrido, sent an invitation to the pope asking him to come and bless it hoping that would generate business. (As I said, only in Latin America!)

It’s not clear whether the pope is planning to visit, but I’m not placing any bets.

Yet, in the grand scheme of things, the Lord must be pleased at this small team’s audacity at such a grand project and the downhome piety that invested so much effort, time, devotion, and resources into a wonderful faith project like this.

They’ve given the world, as if through a sacred window, a monumental view of the one Sacrifice that brought redemption to all humanity. 

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Check out the world’s tallest free-standing statue (secular) that stuns the imagination!

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Photo Credits: Feature: Rio Statue with sun (Donatas Dabravolskas); Reclining view (German Garrido | YouTube | Fair Use); other images from www.SanAgustinHuila.com.