Este post também está disponível em:
Português 
English
The statue of Santa Rita de Cássia and the religious tourist complex located on the banks of the BR-226 and the Trairi River, in the municipality of Santa Cruz in Rio Grande do Norte, attracts thousands of devotees every year.
It is the largest statue in the entire American continent and the largest Catholic image on the planet at 56 meters high. See the comparison:
The city of Santa Cruz has a 56-meter-high image of St. Rita of Cascia.
The saint is patron saint of the city of Santa Cruz in RN.
“The founder of the city of Santa Cruz in RN was devoted to Santa Rita de Cássia and built the first chapel in honor of the saint in 1825.
Since then she has been the patron saint of the city. Every year, on May 22, the day of St. Rita of Cascia, more than 60,000 people usually come to the city on pilgrimage.”
The statue of St. Rita of Cascia, built on top of a hill (Mount Carmel), is attracting a large number of visitors to the city of Santa Cruz, with 35,000 inhabitants, located in the region of Sertão de Trairí, in the interior of Rio Grande do Norte, 120 kilometers away from the state capital, Natal.
At 56 meters high, the statue is considered the largest Catholic image in the world, with measurements almost 50 percent larger than those of the image of Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro, which is 38 meters high.
Built with clay and concrete blocks, the image has a brushed steel crown and is part of the Sanctuary of Santa Rita de Cássia, which has a capacity for 2,500 faithful, as well as a gazebo, auditorium, food court, promise room, parking for 3,000 vehicles and the Praça do Romeiro, created for the celebration of country masses.
Inaugurated on June 26, 2010, the work reflects investments of about 6 million reais, made by the local city hall, the state government and the federal government.
The insertion of the city in the religious tourism itinerary of the state began well before the construction of the gigantic image of Santa Rita, the Saint of Impossible Causes.
Morro do Carmelo is a traditional pilgrimage point in the region, since the famous Friar Damião de Bozzano began to make the procession of the Way of the Cross on Passion Friday on the route of about seven kilometers between the Mother Church of Santa Rita de Cássia, in the city center and the chapel of Nossa Senhora do Carmo, which existed at the top of the hill.
Video Religious Tourism in Santa Cruz in RN
Cidade de Santa Cruz no RN e Santa Rita de Cássia
Estátua de Santa Rita de Cássia RN01:21
Santa Cruz no RN02:45
St. Rita of Cascia is known as the saint of impossible causes.
The fame, according to Father Sales, is due to improbable miracles that happened in her life. “St. Rita was a widow and her children had died. Yet she managed to enter a convent, when only virgins were accepted.” he said.
Another miracle occurred shortly before her death. It was winter and she asked them to look for roses in the garden of her house. Everything was covered in snow, but they managed to find and bring the roses,” she says.
The image of Santa Rita de Cássia is part of the Alto de Santa Rita complex, which offers an auditorium for 225 people, a restaurant and a chapel.
According to the Rio de Janeiro City Hall, Christ the Redeemer is 38 meters high.
The image of Santa Rita is in the municipality of Santa Cruz, 115 km from Natal.
Religious Tourism in Santa Cruz, RN
