Redeem now - Swifties in Brazil were thrilled to see the Christ the Redeemer statue welcome her.
- The excited fans raised tens of thousands of dollars for the group that maintains the site.
- Swift's trip to Brazil is another stop on her wildly successful worldwide tour.
We all know Taylor Swift is one of the most popular superstars in the world, but it's hard to beat a greeting from Jesus Christ himself.
This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now. Have an account? Log in.As her sweep of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, shows started this week, new billionaire Swift and her legions of devoted fans were greeted by the wide-open arms of the world's most famous Christ statue, sporting a projected image of a Swift-inspired T-shirt.
The 125-foot Christ the Redeemer was illuminated Thursday night with a towering message welcoming the singer to the country for the latest leg of her Eras Tour. The grand show of hospitality was thanks to a charitable act by her fans and orchestrated by the Christ the Redeemer Archdiocesan Sanctuary, which manages the iconic statue.
On social media, Swifties asked Rio Mayor Eduardo Paes to project onto the statue a likeness of the "Junior Jewels" shirt from Swift's "You Belong with Me" music video. Their plea went viral. Paes, who once called the singer the "Madonna of our times," said he'd take the matter to the Rev. Omar Raposo, the rector of the sanctuary.
In exchange for the projection, the priest, who runs the popular Catholic site, challenged Swifties to raise money to buy food and drinks for the upcoming Catholic Church's World Day of the Poor, which will be marked on Sunday.
In one day of crowdfunding, fans raised about 180,000 reais (about $37,000), which covered the cost of 20,000 loaves of panettones, a traditional sweet yeast bread, and bottled water for Rio's homeless, a statement from the sanctuary said.
"Young people like challenges. So we directed the energy of fans to do good," said Raposo, who also is pastor of Rio's São José da Lagoa parish. "This can and will be replicated! It's a mobilization for solidarity, Christ the Redeemer descending the Corcovado mountain to impact society."
It's not the first time Swift and her fans have been connected to charitable efforts — as she toured the US, she made large donations to food pantries and banks in cities she visited. Before then, she donated tens of thousands of dollars to her hometown's library and pledged a donation to the Joyful Heart Foundation, which supports survivors of sexual assault.
Swift's ongoing Eras Tour has been wildly successful, making history as the highest-grossing tour of all time, and the first to gross over $1 billion, according to Business Insider's previous reporting. Some fans have even spent thousands of dollars to see her.
Her first leg of the tour across the US also created a major economic boom in the country.
Sign up for notifications from Insider! Stay up to date with what you want to know. Subscribe to push notificationsWatch: The Taylor Swift effect: How a pop star created her own economy
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