“Foxes have holes, and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lie down and rest.” — Matthew 8:20
Downtown Lafayette has a new, arresting statue to ponder, this one embodying the form of Jesus, asleep on a park bench. It’s the replicated work of Timothy Schmalz, 53, a Canadian sculptor who has dedicated his life to creating such Christian art.
The work has been duplicated and placed around the world, usually — not always — to acclaim since Schmalz first crafted the original a decade ago. Since May 11, it has rested on the front lawn of the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist in Lafayette, where it will stay.
Schmalz related this work’s creation in a recent telephone interview from his studio and, days later, to a small crowd at the Acadiana Center for the Arts, where the 50th anniversary of Catholic Charities of Acadiana was celebrated. Schmalz recounted he had been looking from the window of his Toronto studio to a busy street below one day when he saw a solitary human figure, wrapped in a blanket, lying on a park bench. He made his way to the scene and, upon returning to his studio, decided he had envisioned Jesus. Imagine that.
Now that perspective and the work itself have troubled more than a few people. Not everyone embraces the idea of Jesus, itinerant preacher, as homeless. But revisit his words, published above.
One displeased person wrote Catholic Charities to express “disgust” at the “Homeless Jesus.” The message: No more donations. But that was an exception.
Public art can be a two-sided coin. Lafayette banished the downtown statue of Alfred Mouton, Civil War Confederate, after a century of embracing it. That’s how it has been with Confederate markers elsewhere in Louisiana.
There are few distinguishing differences between Homeless Jesus and any homeless person anywhere. In Schmalz’s creation, the covering over most of the body gives little clue that it is the Son of God, save for the marks on his feet, which extend beyond the blanket, baring wounds inflicted on the Cross. That makes all the difference.
Pope Francis got the message from the outset. Schmalz gifted him a small image of the piece and he loved it. He blessed it there and its replicas elsewhere. In Lafayette, Bishop Douglas Deshotel likewise saw the beauty of the statue when he blessed it after Mass on May 11.
Small wonder that acceptance of this work is not universal. Many people prefer Jesus as the King of Glory, which this is not, except in subdued form. Schmalz said he offered the original piece to more than one prominent religious site but found no immediate acceptance. For more than a year, he said, “Homeless Jesus” had no home.
Later, its home was located at Regis College at the University of Toronto. Now the image is found in more than 100 places around the world, including Detroit; Dallas; Montreal; Mexico City; Buffalo; Dublin and Manila. It is found in Vatican City en route to St. Peter’s, at Capernaum and on the Sea of Galilee.
And in Lafayette.
Ben Broussard, chief of external affairs for Catholic Charities, said Catholic Charities of Acadiana leaders encountered Schmalz at a conference last year and were enthralled by his work and what he had to say. Kim Boudreaux, Lafayette’s Catholic Charities executive officer, said the Homeless Jesus is “fitting for our organization and our ministry,” which focuses on serving the hungry, the thirsty, strangers, the naked and the sick — those embodied in Schmalz’s “Matthew 25” sculptural series of works, based in scripture.
Homeless Jesus lifted the spirits of those at Catholic Charities of Acadiana; a supporter purchased the work, anonymously, for the organization. The cathedral parish embraced the work as well, and its reception was enthusiastic at the blessing.
Naturally, Boudreaux and Broussard hope Homeless Jesus inspires Catholic Charities supporters — those who relish helping the hungry and homeless. But there’s another, frequent draw to the statue in some communities where it is placed: The homeless there take some solace from Homeless Jesus; they think of the work as their own.
The comfortable are afflicted; the afflicted, comforted. Imagine that.
Ken Stickney is metro editor in Lafayette. Write him at kstickney@theadvocate.com.
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