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Russian sculptor's statue of Pope John Paul II to be placed near Notre Dame de Paris

The 3.6-meter bronze statue weighing 1.5 metric tonnes will be placed in Square Jean XXIII on October 25

A model of the monument ITAR-TASS/Vitaly Belousov

A model of the monument

© ITAR-TASS/Vitaly Belousov

PARIS, October 9. /TASS/. The Polish Catholic mission in Paris has been allowed to place a statue of Pope John Paul II, a work of Russian sculptor Zurab Tsereteli, near the French capital's landmark cathedral, Notre Dame, the archbishop of the Polish city of Lodz said on Thursday.

The 3.6-meter bronze statue weighing 1.5 metric tonnes, Tsereteli's gift to the mission, will be placed in Square Jean XXIII, named after Pope John XXIII, on October 25.

Tsereteli's sculptures can be found all over the world, from New York and London to Jerusalem and Tokyo. Among them is a giant statue of Peter the Great in Moscow and the Tear Drop monument in New Jersey commemorating 9/11 victims.

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