Cristo Rei (Dili)

Cristo Rei in Dili

The Cristo Rei (or Chritu Rei ) by Dili is a monumental statue in East Timor that represents Jesus Christ . It overlooks Dili, the capital of East Timor, from Ponta Fatossídi , the eastern end of the bay, above the Areia Branca beach in the ( Suco ) Meti Aut district ( Cristo Rei administrative office ). The statue made of copper is around 14 meters high (excluding the globe and base). It was built in 1988 by Indonesia , the then occupying power.

A way of the cross with 14 stations leads up to the platform with the Cristo Rei . A small chapel was built into the rock below the monument .

history

At first glance, the statue is very similar to those in Lisbon and Rio de Janeiro , but was not erected by the Portuguese, but by the Indonesian occupiers in 1988. According to widespread opinion, they wanted to make themselves popular with the predominantly Catholic population. The idea for the installation supposedly came from José Abílio Osório Soares . Pope John Paul II blessed the statue during his visit in 1989. It was inaugurated by Indonesian President Suharto on July 17, 1996, on the 20th anniversary of the official annexation of East Timor to Indonesia. The airline Garuda Indonesia provided rupiah 1.1 billion to complete the project. Donations were also collected. In Sukaraja ( Bandung , Indonesia) the individual parts of the statue's body were made from copper plates. The 27 individual parts were then transported to Dili and assembled by 30 workers in three months.

Appearance and symbolism

The chapel below the statue

The monument was designed by the Indonesian artist Mochamad Syailillah , known as Bolil . The height of the monument (statue, globe and base) is 27 meters. This is an allusion to the annexation of East Timor as the 27th province of Indonesia. The statue and globe are 17 meters high; 17 stands for the date East Timor joined Indonesia and August 17, 1945, Indonesia's independence day. The oversized feet with which the statue stands on the globe (∅ 3–4 m) are striking.

Some residents of Dili see the statue's outstretched arms less as a protective gesture than as an expression of resignation. That is why the statue is popularly called Jesus - “What can I do?” . Since the statue of Jesus is oriented to the west, there is the interpretation that it does not throw its hands over Dili, but over the Indonesian capital Jakarta .