Some have mistaken and reported to the police the bronze sculpture of the "Homeless Jesus" sitting on a park bench. A replica of said statue will soon be housed at the porch of the Manila Cathedral to be blessed on Palm Sunday, in line with "Alay Kapwa" Sunday where all collections would be given to the poor.
The viral bronze sculpture of Jesus depicted as a homeless man on a park bench titled “Homeless Jesus” will soon find a home at the patio of the Manila Cathedral, in Intramuros.
Manila Archbishop Jose F. Cardinal Advincula will unveil and bless the image on April 10 (Sunday) at 10 a.m. while a spiritual conversation with the Canadian sculptor Tomothy P. Schmalz will be held online on Saturday, April 9 at 7:30 p.m..
The statue is only one from a series of six sculptures by the artist that illustrates a faceless Jesus, identifiable only by the wounds on his feet, in need as in Matthew 25:35-45.
In the passage, Jesus is telling his followers that tending to the hungry, thirsty, a stranger, needy, the sick and imprisoned is the same as caring for Him.
It was first in the University of Toronto in 2013. Schmalz offered the first replicas to cathedrals in Toronto and New York but both declined because appreciation for the art “was not unanimous.”
Later in the same year, a smaller replica was presented to Pope Francis in The Vatican who gave it his blessing. He also visited the full-sized replica during his visit to the United States in 2015.
The statue made news twice when people have called the police and mistaking the statue for a real homeless person.
US media have been critical of the people reporting homeless sightings to the police for being privileged and ignoring the concerns of the homeless, eventually making the statue viral.
To date, around 100 replicas of the “Homeless Jesus” have made it around the world including Singapore, South Korea, Australia, Belgium, Mexico, Colombia, and the Dominican Republic.
On April 1, the Manila Cathedral announced it had been chosen as the recipient for the Philippines' first “Homeless Jesus” through a generous donation.
It will be unveiled and blessed on Palm Sunday which is also the Philippine’s “Alay-Kapwa Sunday” when special collections are dedicated for the poor.
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