Europe's tallest statue of the Virgin Mary is inaugurated in a small Polish village

KONOTOPIE, Poland (AP) — An enormous statue of the Virgin Mary that is believed to be Europe's tallest was inaugurated on Saturday in a small Polish village, financed by one of Poland's richest businesspeople.

The monument towers 55.6 meters (182 feet) over Konotopie in central Poland, home to fewer than 150 people. Its height includes a crown-shaped 15-meter (49-foot) pedestal.

It's taller — if less dramatically located — than the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, which measures some 38 meters (125 feet) including its pedestal.

It also surpasses another recent large-scale religious monument in Poland, the Christ the King statue in the western town of Swiebodzin, which was unveiled in 2010 and — complete with the mound it stands on — rises some 52 meters (170 feet) above the ground.

There is a taller statue of the Virgin Mary in the Philippines, which measures some 98 meters (322 feet). But the new one in Poland is believed to be the largest of its kind in Europe.

The vast majority of Poles identify as Catholic, and the Catholic church played a powerful role in public life after the fall of communism in 1989, benefiting from the prestige it earned through its support for the anti-communist opposition. The country is the homeland of St. John Paul II , who reigned as pope from 1978 until his death in 2005. A huge statue of him — but much smaller than the one of Mary — was unveiled over a decade ago in the city of Czestochowa.

The influence of religion in public life has gradually declined in recent years, particularly among younger people and in urban areas. However, the Catholic church remains influential, especially in rural communities and among older generations.

The statue was commissioned by local millionaires Roman and Grażyna Karkosik. The couple live in a small palace a few kilometers (miles) from Konotopie.

Roman Karkosik, an entrepreneur whose ventures included plastic-bottle manufacturing in the 1990s, amassed a fortune through investments on the Warsaw Stock Exchange to became one of Poland’s wealthiest individuals.

The couple have said the monument is an expression of their gratitude to God. Its construction follows an illness that Roman Karkosik suffered.

Local authorities hope the monument will become both a major pilgrimage site and a tourist destination. The statue features a viewing platform built inside its pedestal.

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