The real
stigmata is of course homelessness itself.
A Canadian sculptor wants to install his controversial “Homeless Jesus” statue in every city in the U.S. but is wondering if there's a home for it in Detroit.
The life-size bronze sculpture has gotten mixed reviews in some cities where it has been installed. But artist Timothy Schmalz told the Detroit Free Press Sunday the artwork is meant to inspire people to help those most in need, especially at Easter.
“It’s putting it really within the grasp of everyone,” he told the paper. “Most representations of Jesus are unattainable. But it's a sculpture you can merge with, something you can experience.”
The 7-foot-long sculpture depicts Jesus as a homeless person asleep on a park bench. His face is shrouded in a blanket. He is identifiable as Jesus from the crucifixion wounds visible on his feet...
Schmalz’s work garnered widespread recognition when he went to the Vatican and presented a model to Pope Francis who blessed it. His Holiness told Schmalz the sculpture was a “beautiful and excellent” representation of Jesus.
That opinion is not shared by everyone, however.
A “Homeless Jesus” model in Davidson, N.C., prompted a complaint to police about a vagrant sleeping on a park bench.The Free Press said that one Davidson resident complained the sculpture demeaned Jesus.
"It's a rather intimidating sight, especially at dusk when it looks like a real person," Buck said, saying he has received a few complaints. The park bench is on church property, but it faces a public road and is near an entrance to a neighborhood.
One woman even called the police when she drove by it , WCNC in Charlotte reports in a February story, saying she was "concerned for the safety of the neighborhood."
The woman, Cindy Castano Swannack, also told the station she disagrees with the message of the sculpture, saying Jesus was "not a vagrant" and not someone "who needs our help," according to WCNC.
The sculpture has also been rejected by cathedrals in New York and Toronto undergoing major renovations.