Europe's tallest Virgin Mary statue built

All the Marys were rolled into one by Church

We have devotion for the lost Goddess

Europe's tallest statue of the Virgin Mary has just been unveiled in a tiny Polish village.

The 182ft statue, inaugurated on Saturday, towers over Konotopie in central Poland, home to fewer than 150 residents.

In a ceremony consecrated by a Catholic bishop, helicopters scattered miniature red roses over the huge crowd, Roman Catholic priests in white robes celebrated Mass ("church"), and the popular Mazowsze folk ensemble sang and danced to traditional Polish music.

The £20 million monument took around 18 months to build and is taller than the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, which stands at 125 feet including its pedestal.

It is also taller than the Christ the King statue in the western Polish town of Swiebodzin, which was unveiled in 2010 and rises to about 170 feet above the ground.

But the highest Virgin Mary statue is in the Philippines, which measures 322 feet. Lech Walesa, a former Polish president who won the Nobel Peace Prize for his leadership of the Polish anti-communist resistance, had a front row seat during the inauguration. "This is the end of my path," the 82-year-old Walesa said, suggesting that the causes he has long championed, including democracy and Catholic faith, are now completed.

• Poland unveils Europe's tallest statue of the Virgin Mary towering 182 feet over tiny village