In 1941 the land which was used to construct the monument was acquired. In 1949 the cornerstone was finally placed on the site, and managed by the Portuguese Episcopate. Construction began in 1949 and took ten years to complete, funded and supported by Apostleship of Prayer members. Yet it was only in 1952 that the first construction started on the site; at that time the foundations of the monument were established by "Empresa de Construções OPCA" (at the time, at a cost of 3.020 contos).