Poland is home to Europe’s tallest statue of the Virgin Mary

(Article translated using Deepl) The faithful offer the Virgin Mary all manner of votive offerings to thank her for the graces received. Roman Karkosik and his wife Grazyna have decided to offer the Virgin Mary a special votive gift: a statue. But this is no ordinary statue; it is a veritable monument: the figure itself stands 40.6 metres tall, with a further 15 metres comprising the plinth.

The devotion to Our Lady is very strong in Poland and it is precisely in this Marian land, in Konotop – a village in the heart of rural Poland (in the West Pomeranian Voivodeship), not far from the famous city of Toruń – that a monumental statue of Our Lady of Mercy has been erected. It is set to become a permanent feature of the Polish landscape. Over the course of 13 months’ work, a monument 55.6 metres high has been constructed: the statue is set to be not only the tallest Marian statue in the country, but also in Europe. The work is by the sculptor Adam Jakub Matejkowski. The construction is funded by the aforementioned Polish millionaire Roman Karkosik.

To give an idea of the monument’s scale, it is worth noting that the statue of Jesus in Rio de Janeiro, the famous Christ the Redeemer, is ‘only’ 38 metres tall, including its pedestal. However, the Polish monument will not be the largest Marian monument in the world: that record is held by the statue of the Mother of All Asia – the Tower of Peace, located in the Philippines. Its height, including the base of the structure, is 98 metres.

The crown-shaped plinth will serve as a viewing platform offering a view of the surrounding area. Around 2,500 cubic metres of concrete were used in its construction.

The gigantic statue of the Virgin, according to the project’s designers, is intended to convey profound Gospel messages: “Behold your mother!” and also “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord”. It is also intended to showcase her royalty: the statue of the Mother of God, however, does not wear a crown but rises from the crown-shaped base as if to show that God “has cast down the mighty from their thrones and lifted up the lowly”.

According to the founders’ wishes, the statue will be erected near the local Shrine of Our Lady of Sorrows in Konotop. Work began in 2025 and is expected to be completed in early August 2026. The official unveiling of the monument and its blessing are scheduled for 15 August, the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, in the presence of the Bishop of Włocławek, Monsignor Krzysztof Wętkowski.