[4] However, the idea had originated earlier on a visit of the Cardinal Patriarch of Lisbon to Rio de Janeiro in 1934, soon after the inauguration of the statue of Christ the Redeemer in 1931.

[5][6] A new plan was approved to recondition the grounds of the Shrine (under the direction of Luiz Cunha and Domingos Ávila Gomes) and also to build a Sanctuary, which included a rectory, a chapel, administration and meeting halls and exhibition galleries.

[5][6] When Pope Paul VI created the Diocese of Setúbal on 16 July 1975, by means of the Papal bull Studentes Nos, the Monument of Christ the King and the Seminary of Almada remained under the control of the Patriarchate of Lisbon.

In order to support pilgrimage to the site, in June 2004 new spaces in the Sanctuary building were inaugurated, including a dining room for 150 people and two segregated dormitories.

[5] In the following year (17 May 2007), the Pope John XXIII hall was opened, containing eight oil paintings by the same architect, among them images from the encyclical Pax in Terris and a statue of the Angel of Portugal.

[5] The inauguration of the Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament (6 January 2009) witnessed the presentation of two paintings related to the revelations made by Margaret Mary Alacoque and another, which was placed above the tabernacle.

In response to the controversy, Porsche apologized and pulled the advertisement, later replacing it with one that retained the original footage which depicted the Christ the King statue.

[6] It is accessible from Lisbon by car (over the 25 de Abril Bridge east of the crossing), by train through station in Pragal and by ferry (the Cacilheiro) over the Tagus, through the port of Cacilhas in Almada.

[6] At the base of the statue is the observation deck, at 82 metres (269 ft), which enables panoramic views of the city of Lisbon, the Tagus River and the 25 de Abril Bridge.

[6] In 1987 there was a plan to construct 18 different buildings and spaces around the monument (including a restaurant, lookouts, a commercial complex, a parking area and a sanctuary), of which only a few of these structures were built.