Christ the Redeemer of the Andes
Encyclopedia
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Andes
The Andes is the world's longest continental mountain range. It is a continual range of highlands along the western coast of South America. This range is about long, about to wide , and of an average height of about .Along its length, the Andes is split into several ranges, which are separated...
at 3,832 metres (12,572 ft) above mean sea level
Above mean sea level
The term above mean sea level refers to the elevation or altitude of any object, relative to the average sea level datum. AMSL is used extensively in radio by engineers to determine the coverage area a station will be able to reach...
on the border between Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
and Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
. It was unveiled on 13 March 1904 as a celebration of the peaceful resolution of the border dispute between the two countries.
The statue is located at the pass of La Cumbre, the highest point on the old road between Mendoza
Mendoza, Argentina
Mendoza is the capital city of Mendoza Province, in Argentina. It is located in the northern-central part of the province, in a region of foothills and high plains, on the eastern side of the Andes. As of the , Mendoza's population was 110,993...
in Argentina and Santiago de Chile. The pass is also known as the Church (Iglesia) Pass on the Chilean side and the Bermejo Pass on the Argentine. The nearest major settlements are the Argentine town of Uspallata
Uspallata
Uspallata is a village, and an administrative district, in Argentina in a scenic location on the road which crosses the Andes between Mendoza and Santiago in Chile. It is located west of Mendoza and was once served by the now disused Transandine Railway which passed through the town on its way...
and Juncal in Chile. The closest village is Las Cuevas. The road climbs 1 km over a sinuous 9 km from Las Cuevas to the pass. The road is only accessible in summer months, when there is no snow. Winter temperatures can reach -30°C. The road is now principally used as a tourist route to visit the statue, with the main route between the two countries now using the Cristo Redentor Tunnel at the foot of the climb.
Construction
At the beginning of the 20th century, PopePope
The Pope is the Bishop of Rome, a position that makes him the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church . In the Catholic Church, the Pope is regarded as the successor of Saint Peter, the Apostle...
Leo XIII wrote a series of papal encyclicals calling for peace and harmony and for devotion to Christ
Christ
Christ is the English term for the Greek meaning "the anointed one". It is a translation of the Hebrew , usually transliterated into English as Messiah or Mashiach...
the Redeemer. At the same time, Argentina and Chile were coming close to armed conflict over an ongoing dispute over the location of the border. The bishop of Cuyo, monsignor Marcelino del Carmen Benavente, promised to erect a statue of Christ the Redeemer to remind the parties of Christ's message of peace. The 7 m-high bronze statue was subsequently made by Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
sculptor Mateo Alonso, and was kept for a period on show in the patio of the Lacordaire School of the Dominican Order
Dominican Order
The Order of Preachers , after the 15th century more commonly known as the Dominican Order or Dominicans, is a Catholic religious order founded by Saint Dominic and approved by Pope Honorius III on 22 December 1216 in France...
in Buenos Aires.
As the countries slipped closer to war, Ángela Oliveira Cézar de Costa, a well-connected society lady who led a Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
group at the school, had the idea of taking the statue to the Andes in the event of peace as a symbol of unity between the two nations. She had particular cause for concern as her brother was an Argentine Army
Argentine Army
The Argentine Army is the land armed force branch of the Armed Forces of the Argentine Republic and the senior military service of the country.- History :...
general preparing for conflict at the frontier. As a friend of the President of Argentina
President of Argentina
The President of the Argentine Nation , usually known as the President of Argentina, is the head of state of Argentina. Under the national Constitution, the President is also the chief executive of the federal government and Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces.Through Argentine history, the...
, Julio Roca, she was able to gain the interest of both countries. She would later be nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize
Nobel Peace Prize
The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes bequeathed by the Swedish industrialist and inventor Alfred Nobel.-Background:According to Nobel's will, the Peace Prize shall be awarded to the person who...
.
In May 1902 there was a diplomatic breakthrough and Argentina and Chile came to peaceful agreement. The plan for the statue progressed and Oliveira Cézar de Costa and Bishop Benavente prepared to move the statue to the pass of Cumbre del Bermejo, which José de San Martín
José de San Martín
José Francisco de San Martín, known simply as Don José de San Martín , was an Argentine general and the prime leader of the southern part of South America's successful struggle for independence from Spain.Born in Yapeyú, Corrientes , he left his mother country at the...
had used in 1817 to cross the Andes and lead the liberation of Chile.
In 1904, the Christ was moved in pieces 1,200 km by train and was then raised up the mountains by mule
Mule
A mule is the offspring of a male donkey and a female horse. Horses and donkeys are different species, with different numbers of chromosomes. Of the two F1 hybrids between these two species, a mule is easier to obtain than a hinny...
. On 15 February 1904 a 6 m-high granite
Granite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
pedestal designed by Molina Civit was completed and the original sculptor Alonso directed the piecing together of the bronze statue. It was erected with the figure facing the line of the border, standing on a globe with South America prominent, his left hand holding a cross and his right raised in blessing.
Inauguration
On 13 March 1904, 3,000 Chileans and Argentines climbed to the summit despite the inhospitable conditions and watched the two armies, only a short time before ready to do battle with one another, firing gun salutes together. President Roca of Argentina and President Germán RiescoGermán Riesco
Germán Riesco Errázuriz was a Chilean political figure, and he served as President of Chile between 1901 and 1906.-Early life:...
of Chile were unable to attend but their foreign ministers were present, along with the Archbishop of Buenos Aires and the bishops of Cuyo, Argentina and Ancud
Ancud
Ancud is a city in southern Chile located in the northernmost part of the island and province of Chiloé, in Los Lagos Region .-Geography:...
, Chile. Two plaques were unveiled celebrating the friendship between the two countries.
One is inscribed (in Spanish) "Sooner shall these mountain crags crumble to dust than Chile and Argentina shall break this peace which at the feet of Christ the Redeemer they have sworn to maintain."
Subsequent development
In 1916 the cross of the statue was remade, the original having succumbed to the difficult climate conditions. The original cross of bronze was made into commemorative medals. Various further plaques were added over the years. A major repair was undertaken by the Argentine Province of MendozaMendoza Province
The Province of Mendoza is a province of Argentina, located in the western central part of the country in the Cuyo region. It borders to the north with San Juan, the south with La Pampa and Neuquén, the east with San Luis, and to the west with the republic of Chile; the international limit is...
in 1993 when the statue was in great disrepair, as well as nearby buildings that had been used as a meteorological station.
In 2004, the centenary of the statue was celebrated in a ceremony at the statue attended by President Néstor Kirchner
Néstor Kirchner
Néstor Carlos Kirchner was an Argentine politician who served as the 54th President of Argentina from 25 May 2003 until 10 December 2007. Previously, he was Governor of Santa Cruz Province since 10 December 1991. He briefly served as Secretary General of the Union of South American Nations ...
of Argentina and Ricardo Lagos
Ricardo Lagos
Ricardo Froilán Lagos Escobar is a lawyer, economist and social democrat politician, who served as president of Chile from 2000 to 2006. He won the 1999-2000 presidential election by a narrow margin in a runoff over Independent Democrat Union candidate Joaquín Lavín...
of Chile. They reaffirmed the friendship between the two countries. The statue was declared a National Historic Monument of Argentina.