HOW ŚWIEBODZIN GOT ITS STATUE OF JESUS: REFLECTIONS ON SACRED SPACES AND RELIGIOUS TOURISM
HOW ŚWIEBODZIN GOT ITS STATUE OF JESUS: REFLECTIONS ON SACRED SPACES AND RELIGIOUS TOURISM

Summary/Abstract: In 2010 Świebodzin, a small town in western Poland, acquired a statue of Jesus Christ large enough to rival in size the much more famous statue of Christ in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. However, not being associated with any miracle, it does not attract large numbers of visitors, many of those coming to see it apparently being tourists rather than pilgrims, though clearly there is a degree of overlap between these two categories. The statue was the personal project of a local priest, now deceased, whose activities in building it are described. The paper situates the statue in the contexts of both local identity in this part of Poland and the wider community formed by the Catholic Church in the country, whose hierarchy has sometimes shown itself sceptical of this project. It is argued that the statue and the circumstances of its creation and existence raise questions about just what we mean by such concepts as sacred space and pilgrimage.

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