Photo: Lightning strikes Christ the Redeemer statue in Brazil

CNA Newsroom, Feb 14, 2023 / 08:14 am (CNA).

Lightning struck Rio de Janeiro’s iconic Christ the Redeemer monument, one of the Seven Wonders of the World, and a photographer managed to capture the precise moment.

The lightning bolt struck the afternoon of Feb. 10, and photographer Fernando Braga shared the picture on Instagram.

“Unstoppable. Never give up. Many frustrated attempts to capture lightning falling on the [statue of] Christ. Many rains and days passed. I was close a few times, but I had never captured this on the [statue of] Christ,” the photographer wrote.

“It’s the place that I love to photograph! I already have a very special photo for me that was of the blessed moon and now I have the divine lightning!” Braga exclaimed.

The Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro was dedicated on Oct. 12, 1931, the feast of Our Lady Aparecida, patroness of Brazil.

It is made of reinforced concrete and lined with soapstone. It is 125 feet tall and stands on a 26-foot pedestal. The outstretched arms are 92 feet wide.

In 2006, on the 75th anniversary of its dedication, Cardinal Oscar Scheidt, then archbishop of Rio, created the Archdiocesan Shrine of Christ the Redeemer of Corcovado.

In 2007, the Christ the Redeemer was chosen as one of the new Seven Wonders of the World in a global voting campaign sponsored by the New 7 Wonders Foundation.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.