Homeless Jesus

The statue depicts Jesus as a homeless person, sleeping on a park bench. His face and hands are obscured, hidden under a blanket, but Crucifixion wounds on his feet reveal his identity. The bronze sculpture was intended to be provocative, with its sculptor, Timothy Schmalz commenting, "That's essentially what the sculpture is there to do. It's meant to challenge people." ==History==

Homeless Jesus was designed by Schmalz, a Canadian sculptor and devout Catholic. Schmalz visited Pope Francis in Vatican City in November 2013 to present a miniature version of his statue. He recalled 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 is reaching out to the marginalized." Regis College, a Jesuit school of theology federated with the University of Toronto, acquired the first cast in 2013 and installed it outside its main entrance. A lightweight version of Homeless Jesus, made out of wood and fibreglass, was crafted by Schmalz at the request of the Archdiocese of Baltimore in 2017. The lightweight statue was exhibited in several schools, parishes and institutions around Baltimore before it was returned to Schmalz in 2018. ==Reception==

Critical reception Lennie Bennett, an art critic for the Tampa Bay Times noted that the statue was "technically well done", although also remarked that the design is "nothing new or interesting aesthetically". However, Bennett acknowledged Schmalz intended for the statue to be a social statement. Public reaction wounds are visible on the statue. Reception of the statue has been mixed. NPR said, "The reaction [to the cast in Davidson, North Carolina] was immediate. Some loved it; some didn't." The statue's design has occasionally resulted in people mistaking the figure for a real person. When the statue was installed in Davidson, North Carolina, one resident reported they called the police the first time she saw it, mistaking the statue for a real homeless person. Similar instances of concerned individuals who mistook a Homeless Jesus statue for a homeless person also took place in Minneapolis and Fargo, North Dakota. In October 2020, a Bay Village, Ohio resident mistook a statue installed in the area 20 minutes earlier for a sleeping homeless person and called the police, garnering national attention for highlighting people's privilege and indifference towards homelessness. ==Copies==

In addition to the original sculpture installed at Regis College in Toronto, a number of copies were installed in other locations around the world. , over 50 copies were created by Schmalz. The price of statues made between 2014 and 2018 varied, ranging from US$22,000 to $40,000. It typically takes Schmalz three months to form and cast the work into bronze. The following list shows some places where copies of the sculpture have been installed permanently. Americas Africa, Asia and Oceania Europe ==See also==