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Friday, September 08, 2006
100-foot statue of Mary eyed atop Mt. Cabuyao
THE first step in the erection of a giant statue of theBblessed Virgin Mary at one of the high points near Baguio will start Friday as a Catholic priest will lead the ground-breaking ceremony to commence work on it.
But work on it will surely start early next year, said Father Seraph Balmedras, who will seek funding for the put up of the giant statue that will be a landmark not only for Baguio, but also for Tuba, Benguet, where the 100-foot statue will rise.
He explained that the statue will be Baguio’s answer to the world famous Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Though a little smaller, it will be located on a much higher elevation.
"We hope to construct soon," said Balmedras, who added that the 30-meter or 100-foot statue of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal, which will stand about 10 stories high, will be constructed atop the 7,250-foot Mt. Cabuyao.
Belmedras said he will be raising the needed P5-million to construct the statue, which he said will become a landmark of this city and Tuba.
The statue itself will measure 24 meters or 80 feet, while its pedestal which is egg-shaped will be six meters or 20 feet in height. It will be about six meters or 20 feet wide.
He said once finished, the structure will be seen for miles away. At night, two spotlights will emanate from its hands, one directed at the Baguio Cathedral (Our Lady of Atonement), which is also a landmark in this city, and the other that will pass through the Lourdes Grotto, another city landmark that is famous for its more than 300-step stairway.
Belmedras is hoping that local residents will help finance the project, which also benefited from a kindly native family, who donated the 2,000-square-meter lot where the structure will rise.
He said a local architect has already made the design, an engineer promised to build it, while a soil specialist will undertake the analysis of the soil of the construction site.
"All came in as volunteers and at the most unexpected manner," said Belmendras, who said groundbreaking ceremonies were scheduled on September 8 and that construction will in January next year in time for the 100th year celebration of Baguio and the region’s “Catholization”.
Belmedras disclosed that he started dreaming of putting up the statue as early as four years ago, but when he consulted with Baguio-Benguet Bishop Carlito Cenzon, his superior, the latter suggested that he could come out with more statues "instead of one."
Thus, the younger priest came out with the Station of the Cross, a series of life-sized statues depicting the last days of Jesus Christ. These statues were put up along the road leading to the mountain and were open for public view during the Holy Week in 2003.
Belmedras also spearheaded the building of a chapel after the station and now plans to start erecting the giant statue to make a complete pilgrimage site.
But the priest’s dream of putting up the giant statue never died and was given hope when local engineer Antonio Caluza offered his service after a mass at the Baguio Cathedral months ago. Caluza’s older brother, Miguel, an architect, offered his services while Engineer Bonifacio dela Pena said that he would put his soil analysis expertise to use at no cost.
Local artists are also eager to work with the local catholic priests as they said that talent fees have been waived. Local sculptor Kigao Rosimo said that they have already some ideas on how the statue will look and how it will be accomplished.
Belmedras is also seeking the supports of Baguio City Representative Mauricio Domogan and Benguet Rep. Samuel Dangwa, as well as Benguet Governor Borromeo Melchor, for the upgrade of the 3.2 kilometer road leading to the peak.
"If they can only allocate the needed funds for the upgrade of the road, then access to the statue will be much easier," said the priest, who added that the statue is hollowed and that stairways will be placed from its foot up the body leading to the head which will serve as a view deck to the city.
The pedestal will also serve as a chapel for pilgrims since the city is also a pilgrimage site.
"We see that local participation is active and we hope that with this spirit, the statue as we envisioned, will rise," added the priest, who said that the put up of the statue will be done on time for the centennial year of the spread of Catholicism in the city and region.
The statue of Mary will be set some 8 kilometers away from the city, which itself is some 5,000 feet above sea level, which means that it will rise on an elevation some 2,250 feet higher than the city.
Brazil’s 135-foot Christ the Redeemer statue is one of Rio de Janeiro’s most famous landmarks that can be seen from miles away. It is located on top of the 710-meter Corcovado peak located inside the Tijuca forest national park of the metropolitan Brazilian city.
It is accessible through a narrow road or the 3.8 kilometer Corcovado Rack Railway which was opened in 1884 and refurbished in 1980. From the train terminal, pilgrims can get to the statue using the 220 steps or by elevators and escalators. The statue attracts at least 300,000 local and international visitors per year. (PML)
(September 8, 2006 issue)
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