Sagar, India, 01 October 2013: Cardinal George Alencherry, the head of the Syro Malabar
Catholic Church, blessed and installed India’s tallest statue of Jesus in Sagar in
the Central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh on Monday in the presence of 18 bishops,
and pilgrims coming from all over India and overseas.
The 43-feet tall statue
of Divine Mercy of Jesus, which local people call “Dayasagar” (Ocean of Mercy), stands
along the National Highway 26, 15 Km west of Sagar city in the village called Khajuria
Guru.
The statue that weighs 1.5 ton is placed at the height of 45 feet on
a 100 square feet concrete structure to protect it from violent storms and earthquakes.
It is 16 feet wide, 3 feet depth, 3 inches thick. The rays from the heart of Jesus
representing are 21 feet long.
Bishop Abraham Viruthakulngara, who spoke at
the function, reminded people that Sagar in Hindi means sea. "A sea is made of drops
of water. So is also Sagar. The little faith of each one can create an ocean of faith,"
he said.
The statue is installed in the village, where the devotion to Divine
Mercy was practiced in a diocesan Shrine at Khajuria Guru since 2007. Bishop Antony
Chirayath of Sagar diocese in a year later also installed relic of St. Maria Faustina,
who pioneered the devotion.
Attached to the shrine, there is a Renewal Centre,
which can accommodate 50 people for prayer and meditation. A community of Adoration
Sisters spends their time in Adoration.
People come here for spiritual nourishment.
Spiritual Retreats are organized here. Monthly healing services are held. Those who
wish to participate may contact the Rector.
The statue, however, is not the
tallest in India. A 135 feet statue of Hanuman in a small village in the Krishna district
near to Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, takes that place currently. It is also the tallest
Hanuman statue in the world.
Media also reports plans of some temples are groups
to build statues measuring more than 400 feet in some parts of India. Source: UCAN