''Homeless Jesus'',Hilliard, Mark
"Homeless Jesus at Christ Church set to provoke reflection"
''

The Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is considered a newspaper ...

'', 2015-5-1. Retrieved on 2015-5-2. also known as ''Jesus the Homeless'', is a

bronze sculpture Bronze is the most popular metal for Casting (metalworking), cast metal sculptures; a cast bronze sculpture is often called simply "a bronze". It can be used for statues, singly or in groups, reliefs, and small statuettes and figurines, as w ...

by Canadian sculptor

Timothy Schmalz Timothy Schmalz (born in 1969) is a Canadian sculptor based out of St. Jacobs, Ontario, Canada. He focuses on religious figures and also has many public pieces. Schmalz is best known for his '' Homeless Jesus'' that he created in reaction to the ...

depicting

Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

as a homeless person, sleeping on a park bench. The original sculpture was installed at Regis College,

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...

, in early 2013. Over 100 casts of the statue have been installed worldwide since 2016.

Description and history

''Homeless Jesus'' was designed by Timothy Schmalz, a Canadian sculptor and devout Catholic. It depicts Jesus as a homeless person, sleeping on a park bench. His face and hands are obscured, hidden under a blanket, but

crucifixion Crucifixion is a method of capital punishment in which the victim is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross or beam and left to hang until eventual death from exhaustion and asphyxiation. It was used as a punishment by the Persians, Carthagin ...

wounds on his feet reveal his identity. The statue has been described as a "visual translation" of the

Gospel of Matthew The Gospel of Matthew), or simply Matthew. It is most commonly abbreviated as "Matt." is the first book of the New Testament of the Bible and one of the three synoptic Gospels. It tells how Israel's Messiah, Jesus, comes to his people and for ...

passage in which Jesus tells his disciples, "as you did it to one of the least of my brothers, you did it to me". Schmalz intended for the bronze sculpture to be provocative, admitting, "That's essentially what the sculpture is there to do. It's meant to challenge people." He offered the first casts to St. Michael's Cathedral in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

and St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York, but both churches declined. One spokesperson for St. Michael's said the church declined because appreciation "was not unanimous" and it was undergoing restoration. The cast intended for St. Michael's was installed at Regis College, the Jesuit School of Theology at the

. Similarly, a spokesperson for St. Patrick's complimented the work but declined purchasing the cast due to ongoing renovations. In 2013, the first cast was installed in the United States, at the St. Alban's Episcopal Church in

Davidson, North Carolina Davidson is a suburban town located in northern Mecklenburg and Iredell counties, North Carolina, United States, on the banks of Lake Norman. It is a suburb in the Charlotte metropolitan area. The population was 10,944 at the 2010 census, and in ...

. It was purchased for $22,000 and displayed as a memorial to parishioner Kate McIntyre, who had an affinity for public art. According to the Rev. David Buck, rector of St. Alban's, "It gives authenticity to our church. This is a relatively affluent church, to be honest, and we need to be reminded ourselves that our faith expresses itself in active concern for the marginalized of society". Buck welcomed discussion about the sculpture and considers it a "Bible lesson for those used to seeing Jesus depicted in traditional religious art as the Christ of glory, enthroned in finery." Furthermore, he said in an interview with

NPR National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...

, "We believe that that's the kind of life Jesus had. He was, in essence, a homeless person." For the downtown

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

location, Rev. Gary Wright, S.J. of the Saints Peter and Paul Jesuit Church has said ''Homeless Jesus'' honors and may comfort the homeless people whom the church serves. An anonymous alumnus of the

Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

- and

Sisters of Mercy The Sisters of Mercy is a religious institute of Catholic women founded in 1831 in Dublin, Ireland, by Catherine McAuley. As of 2019, the institute had about 6200 sisters worldwide, organized into a number of independent congregations. They a ...

-sponsored

University of Detroit Mercy School of Law The University of Detroit Mercy School of Law is the law school of the University of Detroit Mercy and is located in Downtown Detroit, Michigan across from the Renaissance Center. Founded in 1912, Detroit Mercy Law is a private Roman Catholic law ...

, which adjoins Saints Peter and Paul, donated funds for the statue at the church, placing it just across East Jefferson Avenue from Detroit's iconic

Renaissance Center The Renaissance Center (also known as the GM Renaissance Center and nicknamed the RenCen) is a group of seven connected skyscrapers in Downtown Detroit, Michigan, United States. The Renaissance Center complex is on the Detroit International Riv ...

towers. Charleston, West Virginia, received the 8th ''Homeless Jesus'' statue in November, 2014. A cast has been installed on the Via della Conziliazione, the street leading to

St. Peter's Basilica The Papal Basilica of Saint Peter in the Vatican ( it, Basilica Papale di San Pietro in Vaticano), or simply Saint Peter's Basilica ( la, Basilica Sancti Petri), is a church built in the Renaissance style located in Vatican City, the papal e ...

outside of the Papal Office of Charities in March 2016. Earlier, Schmalz visited the

Pope The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

Vatican City Vatican City (), officially the Vatican City State ( it, Stato della Città del Vaticano; la, Status Civitatis Vaticanae),—' * german: Vatikanstadt, cf. '—' (in Austria: ') * pl, Miasto Watykańskie, cf. '—' * pt, Cidade do Vati ...

in November 2013 to present a miniature version of his statue. He recalled about the Pope's reaction, "He walked over to the sculpture, and it was just chilling because he touched the knee of the Jesus the Homeless sculpture, and closed his eyes and prayed. It was like, that's what he's doing throughout the whole world:

Pope Francis Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013. ...

is reaching out to the marginalized." Catholic Charities of Chicago and the Archdiocese of Washington, D.C. have both had casts installed outside of their offices. Pope Francis visited the sculpture installed along G Street in Chinatown, Washington, D.C., during his 2015 visit to the United States. St. Paul's Cathedral, Buffalo, New York, is now the permanent site for ''Homeless Jesus'', installed during Holy Week 2015. St. Paul's, the Cathedral for The Episcopal Diocese of Western New York, is located at 139 Church Street (corner of Church and Pearl in downtown Buffalo). It was considered Buffalo's first national architectural landmark in 1851, and is classified as a National Historic Landmark. In May 2016, a cast was installed at the new main services building of Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City along Classen Boulevard in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. An estimated 60,000 vehicles pass the sculpture daily at this location. In August 2017, a cast was installed at the front entrance of Father Woody's Haven of Hope in Denver, Colorado, at the corner of 7th and Lipan Streets. Father Woody's Haven of Hope mission is to provide food, shelter, clothing, counseling, rehabilitation and hygienic services to the homeless and less fortunate.

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

has recently approved an installation outside St Ann's Church. The statue was originally going to be installed in

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Bu ...

outside of the Methodist Church's Westminster Central Hall but was eventually rejected. The city believed that the statue would not properly reflect the nature. The Bishop of Manchester reflected on the importance of having ''Homeless Jesus''. He remembered Jesus saying that turning away from helping someone in need is like turning from Jesus. On Dec. 7th, 2017, a cast of the statue was installed in Nelson Mandela Place, Glasgow, Scotland. Scottish artist Peter Howson has made a painting of a homeless Jesus that will be shown alongside the statue. Glasgow priest Father Willy Slavin helped bring the sculpture to Scotland. He was contacted by Schmalz in 2015, and took the idea to the Glasgow Churches Together association. In April 2019 a statue was installed in the Gardens of

Church of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas, Liverpool The Church of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas is the Anglican parish church of Liverpool. The site is said to have been a place of worship since at least the 1250s. The church is situated close to the River Mersey near the Pier Head. The Chapel of ...

. It was unveiled by residents of Liverpool YMCA and blessed by the

Bishop of Liverpool The Bishop of Liverpool is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Liverpool in the Province of York.''Crockford's Clerical Directory'', 100th edition, (2007), Church House Publishing. . The diocese stretches from Southport in the no ...

. The unveiling took place in the context of a Homelessness Conference organized by the Parish Church and Crispin Pailing and drawing together politicians with public, private and charitable sectors to address issues of homelessness in the city. Jesus le sans-abri, Montreal - 02

In November 2019, a cast was installed in front of the St. James United Church in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

, ahead of the observance of the second World Day of the Poor. St. James' Church, Sydney participated in the international vigil for the poor and homeless on 17 November 2019 at its Homeless Jesus sculpture installed outside the church with a service followed by a free lunch for the homeless in the church's crypt. In April 2022, the image was installed at the

Manila Cathedral The Minor Basilica and Metropolitan Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception ( fil, Basilika Menor at Kalakhang Katedral ng Kalinis-linisang Paglilihi; es, Basílica Menor y Catedral Metropolitana de la Inmaculada Concepción), also known as the ...

Intramuros Intramuros (Latin for "inside the walls") is the historic walled area within the city of Manila, the capital of the Philippines. It is administered by the Intramuros Administration with the help of the city government of Manila. Present-day I ...

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...

. It was unveiled and blessed by Manila Archbishop Cardinal

Jose Advincula José Lázaro Fuerte Advíncula, Jr. (born March 30, 1952) is a Filipino prelate of the Catholic Church and a professed member of the Dominican Order who became 33rd Archbishop of Manila on June 24, 2021. He became a cardinal in November 202 ...

on April 10, 2022, coinciding with

Palm Sunday Palm Sunday is a Christian moveable feast that falls on the Sunday before Easter. The feast commemorates Christ's triumphal entry into Jerusalem, an event mentioned in each of the four canonical Gospels. Palm Sunday marks the first day of Holy ...

Reception

Reception of the statue has been mixed. According to NPR, "The reaction o the cast in Davidson, North Carolinawas immediate. Some loved it; some didn't." Some Davidson residents felt it was an "insulting depiction" of Jesus that "demeaned" the neighborhood. One Davidson resident called police the first time she saw it, mistaking the statue for a real homeless person. Another neighbor wrote a letter, saying it " reepedhim out". However, according to Buck, residents are often seen sitting on the bench alongside the statue, resting their hands on Jesus and praying. In October 2020, a resident of Bay Village, Ohio called the police to report a homeless person sleeping on a park bench. This call was made within 20 minutes of the Homeless Jesus sculpture being installed at St. Barnabas Episcopal Church, in Bay Village. This made national news due to reporters calling out the city's residents for being privileged and ignoring the concerns of the homeless.

Copies

By early 2016, some 100 copies of Homeless Jesus were on display worldwide. The first sculpture outside of

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

was installed on the grounds of

Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin Christ Church Cathedral, more formally The Cathedral of the Holy Trinity, is the cathedral of the United Dioceses of Dublin and Glendalough and the cathedral of the ecclesiastical province of the United Provinces of Dublin and Cashel in the ( ...

. The following list shows some places where copies of the sculpture have been installed.

Americas

*In front of the United Methodist Church in

Charleston, West Virginia Charleston is the capital and List of cities in West Virginia, most populous city of West Virginia. Located at the confluence of the Elk River (West Virginia), Elk and Kanawha River, Kanawha rivers, the city had a population of 48,864 at the 20 ...

, USA *At St. Paul's Episcopal Cathedral in Buffalo, NY, USA *At St. Alban's Episcopal Church in

, USA *Outside of St. Basil's hall at St. Mary's University in Calgary, Canada * Outside the Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Chicago 's headquarters in the

River North The River North Gallery District or simply River North, in Chicago, is in the Near North Side, Chicago. It hosts the largest concentration of art galleries in the United States outside of Manhattan. River North has experienced vast changes in ...

neighbourhood of

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, USA *

Central Presbyterian Church Central Presbyterian Church may refer to: ;in Canada: * Central Presbyterian Church (Hamilton) ;in the United States: * Central Presbyterian Church (Little Rock, Arkansas), listed on the NRHP in Arkansas * Central Presbyterian Church (Denver, ...

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the county seat, seat and largest city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and Williamson County, Texas, Williamson co ...

, USA * In front of Saints Peter and Paul Jesuit Catholic Church in downtown

, USA * At

Valparaiso University Valparaiso University (Valpo) is a private university in Valparaiso, Indiana. It is a Lutheran university with about 3,000 students from over 50 countries on a campus of . Originally named Valparaiso Male and Female College, Valparaiso Universit ...

Valparaiso, Indiana Valparaiso ( ), colloquially Valpo, is a city and the county seat of Porter County, Indiana, United States. The population was 34,151 at the 2020 census. History The site of present-day Valparaiso was included in the purchase of land from the ...

, USA * Behind Roberts Park Methodist Episcopal Church in downtown

Indianapolis, Indiana Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Mari ...

, USA * In front of Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City's main services building, Oklahoma, USA * On the corner of the grounds at St. Ann's Catholic Parish in Coppell, Texas, USA * On the corner of Mockingbird Ln and Elmbrook Rd in Dallas, Texas, USA * In front of Holy Rosary Cathedral in

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

*Outside Our Lady of Wisdom Newman Center, Nevada, USA *Outside

Mexico City Metropolitan Cathedral The Metropolitan Cathedral of the Assumption of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary into Heaven ( es, Catedral Metropolitana de la Asunción de la Bienaventurada Virgen María a los cielos) is the cathedral church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Mex ...

, Mexico *Trinity Episcopal Church in Toledo, Ohio, USA *Outside St James United Church, Montreal, Canada *At St Johns Hospice, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA *At St John the Divine Cathedral, New York, USA *At Epiphany Cathedral,

Venice, Florida Venice is a city in Sarasota County, Florida, United States. The city includes what locals call "Venice Island", a portion of the mainland that is accessed via bridges over the artificially created Intracoastal Waterway. The city is located in Sou ...

USA *In the Metropolitan Cathedral in Buenos Aires, Argentina *In the Monserrate cathedral in Bogota, Colombia * Dominican Order Convent at Santo Domingo's Ciudad Colonial, Dominican Republic. * Installed outside the Josephinum (home of Christ Our Hope Parish), Belltown,

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

, Washington

Asia

*On the grounds of the Church of Saint Peter in ancient Capernaum, Israel * On the Sea of Galilee, Israel *At

Cathedral of the Good Shepherd The Cathedral of the Good Shepherd is the oldest Roman Catholic church in Singapore, built in 1847. It is located in the Museum Planning Area within the Civic District. Bounded by the parallel Queen and Victoria Streets, and Bras Basah Road, t ...

, Singapore * In Seosomun Historical Park, a park dedicated to the memory of Christian martyrs in

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

Europe

*Outside St George's Tron Church, Glasgow, Scotland, UK *Near Almundena Cathedral of Madrid, Madrid, Spain *At King's University College, London, UK *At Salvation Army, Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK. *

Church of the Immaculate Conception, Farm Street The Church of the Immaculate Conception, Farm Street, also known as Farm Street Church, is a Roman Catholic parish church run by the Society of Jesus in Mayfair, central London. Its main entrance is in Farm Street, though it can also be accessed ...

, London, UK *At

, Ireland *At Holy Magdalena Church, Bruges, Belgium *At Sant' Egidio, Antwerp, Belgium *In St Anne's Square, Manchester, UK *At Sant'Egidio Headquarters, Rome, Italy *In St. Biagio Church, Codogno, Italy *In the Gardens of the

*Outside Centenary House, Dunbar Link, Belfast, Northern Ireland *At the Papal Office of Charities, Rome, Italy

Oceania

*Outside

St James' Church, Sydney St James' Church, commonly known as St James', King Street, is an Australian heritage-listed Anglican parish church located at 173 King Street, in the Sydney central business district in New South Wales. Consecrated in February 1824 and named ...

, Australia *At Newman College, Melbourne, Australia *Outside

Sacred Heart Cathedral, Townsville Sacred Heart Cathedral is a heritage-listed Roman Catholic cathedral at 266 Stanley Street, Townsville CBD, City of Townsville, Queensland, Australia. It was built from 1896 to 1902 by Dennis Kelleher. It is also known as Church of the Sacred ...

, Australia

Notes

References

External links

The Homeless Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew
by Robert Myles (2014) {{Portal bar, Christianity, Visual arts 2013 establishments in Canada 2013 sculptures Belltown, Seattle Bronze sculptures in Canada Bronze sculptures in Michigan Bronze sculptures in North Carolina Bronze sculptures in Washington, D.C. Homelessness in popular culture Monuments and memorials in Detroit Monuments and memorials in Ireland Monuments and memorials in North Carolina Monuments and memorials in Seattle Monuments and memorials in Toronto Monuments and memorials in Washington, D.C. Outdoor sculptures in Canada Outdoor sculptures in Indiana Outdoor sculptures in Ireland Outdoor sculptures in Michigan Outdoor sculptures in Oklahoma Outdoor sculptures in Seattle Outdoor sculptures in Washington, D.C. Sculpture series Sculptures of men in Canada Sculptures of men in Indiana Sculptures of men in Michigan Sculptures of men in North Carolina Sculptures of men in Texas Sculptures of men in Washington (state) Sculptures of men in Washington, D.C. Statues in Canada Statues in Indiana Statues in Ireland Statues in Michigan Statues in North Carolina Statues in Texas Statues in Washington (state) Statues in Washington, D.C. Statues of Jesus University of Toronto Works by Canadian people