"DIVINE LIGHTNING!!! IT'S FRIDAY!!!" Braga wrote on Instagram at the time.
Braga spoke with Yahoo News Tuesday, telling the outlet that capturing the sight was "like a dream come true" after more than 30 attempts to catch the moment in a time-lapse video using a Nikon D800 camera.
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A Brazilian photographer, Fernando Braga, captured a rare photo of the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (Fernando Braga/@fsbragaphotos)
"At home, I have a really nice view of Christ the Redeemer, so I took a lot of photos of it. In sunsets, sunrise[s], with the moon, the sun, airplanes, helicopters, birds, etc. ... So I decided to get one with lightning too," Braga said.
Christ the Redeemer overlooks Rio de Janeiro from atop Corcovado mountain. (iStock)
The imagery of the lightning striking the monument’s head electrified social media.
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"God has sent the world a message!" Norma Carino wrote.
"Just like that he does in our lives, stops lightning, protecting us from evil," Lilian Freitas commented.
Christ the Redeemer was named one of the seven wonders of the modern world in 2007. (Buda Mendes/Getty Images)
The massive statue of Jesus Christ was completed and dedicated in 1931.