Vatican City is home to some of the most beautiful and thought-provoking art pieces in the world. Among all of these statues, paintings, architecture, and sculptures are works done by Canadian sculptor Timothy P. Schmalz, whose latest addition to the Vatican is a sculpture depicting immigrants and refugees. The sculpture, titled "Angels Unawares," was unveiled by Pope Francis and four refugees on September 29 after weekly mass. The statue will be a permanent fixture in Vatican City. "I wanted this artistic work here in St. Peter's Square to remind everyone of the evangelical challenge of hospitality," the Pope said, according to CTV News. Schmalz was also in Vatican City for the unveiling of "Angels Unawares," and he explained to CBC News what he wanted to accomplish with this statue. "I wanted to reflect the different states of mind and emotion involved in a migrant's journey," he said. "Some of the figures are absolutely joyful that they're heading to a new beginning, others are weeping because they've left their loved ones behind." View this post on Instagram #PopeFrancis unveils a new sculpture in St Peter’s Square dedicated to migrants and refugees, and designed by #timothyschmalz . “As Christians, we cannot be indifferent to the tragedy of old and new forms of poverty, to the bleak isolation, contempt and discrimination experienced by those who do not belong to ‘our’ group. We cannot remain insensitive, our hearts deadened, before the misery of so many innocent people. We must not fail to weep. We must not fail to respond”. A post shared by Christopher Lamb (@ctrlamb) on Sep 29, 2019 at 4:39am PDT Angels Unaware by Timothy Schmalz (here, together with Michael Czerny, telling about the culture of welcoming, as we are welcoming the Angels. pic.twitter.com/wG3Ln4wzxn— Krispurwana Cahyadi (@krispurwana) September 29, 2019 This is not the first sculpture that Schmalz, who hails from St. Jacob's, Ontario, has created and had installed at the Vatican. In 2016, his "Homeless Jesus" sculpture, which had been previously rejected by churches in Toronto and New York, was installed outside of the papal charities office. The Pope had previously blessed a scale model of the statue in 2013, as he did with a model of "Angels Unawares." View this post on Instagram I’ve seen a lot of Jesus-art in my time here in Rome. This one is very high on my list. “Homeless Jesus” by Timothy Schmalz. # For those who believe in Jesus, I think it’s quite feasible that he might’ve looked like this today. I believe it’s important to think about how we walk past people experiencing homelessness everyday. The inner narratives that undergird our reasoning for why it could never be us and how we justify why it’s “just the way life is”. The economic policies we support that leave so many people destitute and without housing in the United States. Our complacency with Mayors in “liberal cities” (like Garcetti in LA). A man who takes pictures with people living on Skid Row for P.R. so that we think he is fighting for them with all he’s got while he guns for the Olympics (which have been shown to benefit the already-rich while harming the poor). Using money that could be used to support some of the approximately 60,000 houseless people in LA. Or the $3.5 Billion that LA county is spending on 2 new jails. The War On Drugs (that still continues), that destroyed mental health and addiction rehabilitation programs in exchange for incarceration and for people living on the streets. In a nation where 3, white, Christian men own as much wealth as the bottom 50% of Americans. Where the wealth inequality is greater in the U.S is currently greater than at its peak in Ancient Rome. For those who follow Jesus yet would tell the man on this bench to pull himself up by his bootstraps. Or think the same of any other person that looks like this on the streets or that is in poverty. Is that really what Jesus would do? # #timothyschmalz #HomelessJesus A post shared by Matt McGorry (@mattmcgorry) on Mar 17, 2018 at 12:10pm PDT Schmalz has commented on the transformative power he believes art has, particularly statues and sculptures. "It's that tactile idea, of something in 3D, that can really move people, rather than just seeing a photograph," he told CBC. Schmalz hopes that "Angels Unawares" has the same effect, telling CBC, "The idea is that the church is not a museum, that it's a living, growing part of our world today." Disclaimer: Cover photo used for illustrative purposes only. There are stories everywhere. If you spot a newsworthy event in your city, send us a message, photo, or video @NarcityCanada on Twitter and Instagram.
