Brazilian City to Have World's Largest Cross Funded with $6 Million in Public Money - 15/09/2026 - Brazil - Folha de S.Paulo

A city of just under 60,000 residents in southern Brazil has begun building the world’s largest cross, standing 102 meters tall and funded with more than R$30 million ($6 million) in public money. The monument will be erected in Cruz Alta, in the interior of Rio Grande do Sul state, funded through the transfer of money from congressional amendments sponsored by federal lawmaker Bibo Nunes.

Construction began in the first week of September. The monument will also feature a religious theme park, an orchard with biblical fruits, a garden and a cable car.

The project is part of an investigation by the Passagens research group at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, launched just over six months ago, into the construction of religious monuments in Brazil with public funding. The phenomenon had already identified cases such as giant Catholic saints and the Terra Prometida theme park in Rio de Janeiro. According to the study, the allocation of congressional amendment funds to religious monuments is transforming Brazil’s urban landscape.