Urbici Soler i Manonelles

He completed his first monumental sculpture, Princess María de la Paz, in 1918, and also studied with Emile Antoine Bourdelle in Paris before returning to Spain, when he was called to South America.

Soler built a house at the foot of Mount Cristo Rey in Anapra, New Mexico, (now part of Sunland Park) and lived there until his death on January 15, 1953.

The project was begun at the behest of Father Lourdes Costa, pastor of the Smeltertown parish, which covered both the New Mexico and the Texas sides of the Rio Grande.

Costa got funding from the Diocese of El Paso to purchase 200 acres (81 ha) from the New Mexico Public Land Office for the statue, and to build a cross.

The statue is 40 feet (12 m) tall including a 9-foot (2.7 m) base and is composed of concrete, steel and Cordovan cream limestone which was quarried near Austin, Texas.