the earliest idea for a grand catholic monument in the city can be traced back to 1859, when the priest of the congregation of the mission vincentian pedro maria boss, at the court of  princess isabel, suggested the construction of a religious statue in rio.

however, it wasn't until after the first world war that a statue of christ was re-proposed by a religious group, called the catholic circle of rio (circulo católico do rio), who saw the world in need of more spirituality and, wanting to reclaim rio de janeiro for christianity, saw the statue as the perfect genesis for this movement.