Pope Francis Blesses Homeless Jesus statue installed in Chicago

ELMIRA, Ontario - Dec. 13, 2013 - PRLog -- Pope Francis’ “Jesus the Homeless” Sculpture Finds Home in Chicago

Blessed statue is installed at the offices of Catholic Charities

Chicago, Illinois; Dec 13, 2013 – Timothy Schmalz (http://www.sculpturebytps.com/), sculptor of large religious statues and  public monuments, met Pope Francis last month at the Vatican (http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2013/11/28/homeless_jesus_statue_gets_audience_with_an_admiring_pope_francis.html) to present his “Jesus the Homeless” sculpture.  Pope Francis is known for his compassion towards the underprivileged and was moved by the sculpture.  After praying in front of the statue, he gave “Jesus the Homeless” his blessing.  Now, a life-size “Jesus the Homeless” work will reside in Chicago and is being unveiled today at the Chicago offices of Catholic Charities.

“Jesus the Homeless” has suffered a rough entry into world-wide acceptance, having been previously rejected by St. Michael's in Toronto and St. Patrick's in New York.  Since the papal blessing, Schmalz says the interest in the statue is gaining momentum by organizations hoping to increase awareness for the poor.

According to The World Bank (http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2013/04/18...), 1.2 Billion people live on less than $1.2 dollars a day.  Schmalz hopes his statue will draw attention to the plight of the disadvantaged and inspire people to donate to various charitable churches and organizations representing the poor, especially at this time of year.

“The reactions to the homeless Jesus statue have been phenomenal,” said Timothy Schmalz.  “I think the statue has a profound effect on people when they realize the homeless person portrayed is none other than Jesus himself.”

Schmalz’s large public religious statues have been installed in many cities (http://www.irishcentral.com/roots/The-statues-of-St-Patri...) and churches around the globe.  The creation of Schmalz’s “Homeless Jesus” statue was inspired one night on a walk after dining with a friend, when he noticed several homeless people sleeping on park benches in the freezing cold.  Having been deeply affected by this sight, Schmalz immediately started to work on the creation of a sculpture that would touch the hearts of many and choose the image of Christ as his subject.

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About Timothy Schmalz:

Born in Elmira, Ontario, Canada in 1969, Schmalz started sculpting non-representational pieces at the age of 18.  After some training, Timothy started sculpting exclusively in bronze and began his career by developing close affiliations with many Christian organizations around the world.  Later in his career, he decided to teach himself the process of creating sculpture in wood and stone.  The expanse of Timothy’s current work includes large religious statues, public monuments, mythological pieces and smaller pieces depicting family.  Timothy currently resides in St. Jacob’s, Ontario with his wife and two children.

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