Church officials have confirmed that the mysterious construction outside Bendigo's Sacred Heart Cathedral is set to become a 50-metre-tall animatronic Pope designed to wave at passing trams.
The towering robot, officially named 'His Holiness Pope-Tron I', or 'Robo-Pope' for short, will offer blessings to commuters and tourists.
"We wanted something subtle," a cathedral spokesperson said, gesturing toward the concrete foundation. "Paris has the Eiffel Tower, Rio has Christ the Redeemer, and Bendigo deserves a large robotic Pope that waves approvingly at trams."
Locals say the confirmation has ended months of speculation, which ranged from a new car park to luxury apartments to "some sort of weird Catholic Bunnings."
High Street trader Gary Wilson said he initially assumed the construction was "a new kebab shop or a massage parlour." Still, the scale model convinced him otherwise. "Yep, that's either Transformer Jesus or a Robo-pope," he said.
Planning documents indicate the Robo-Pope will have a fully articulated arm programmed to wave at trams, school excursions, and delivery riders. A second arm will be reserved for ceremonial blessings and occasional gestures at tourists.
The $87 million project, funded jointly by the Vatican, City of Greater Bendigo and one unbelievably successful Bunnings sausage sizzle, will feature LED-lit eyes, a built-in incense fog machine, and a motion sensor that triggers a "mmm" sound when someone illegally parks nearby.
Engineers have assured residents that the Robo-Pope is safe, despite early tests reportedly startling local bin chickens and moving one tram driver to tears.
"Robo-Pope's wave will intentionally be slow and be non-threatening," lead engineer Dave Jensen said. "We trialled a thumbs-up, but it felt too casual. So we're sticking with a dignified, Euro-papal style wave. Very papal. Very tram-aware."
Once completed, the Robo-Pope is expected to become a major tourist attraction, drawing up to 4 million visitors annually.
"I thought it might've been a car park," said Sharon Wilkins from Kangaroo Flat. "But honestly, a giant robot Pope waving at trams makes more sense."
