Almoner of His Holiness
Press Release
Installation of the sculpture “Be Welcoming”
(Vatican City, 15 April 2025) – A sculpture by the Canadian artist Timothy Paul Schmalz was positioned on the internal staircase of the Colonnade of Saint Peter’s Square, near the showers for the poor and the Madre di Misericordia Clinic, both installed at the behest of Pope Francis to assist the most disadvantaged.
The installation, entitled “Be Welcoming”, is a visual interpretation of a verse from the Letter to the Hebrews: “Do not neglect hospitality, for through it some have unknowingly entertained angels” (Heb 13:2).
This statue in bronze brings the Sacred Scripture alive through art, enabling people to have a physical experience of the Scriptures. The stranger, who seems to live as a homeless person, with his worldly goods in a bag and a staff that brings to mind a long journey, invites you to sit next to him.
This stranger transforms into an angel when one observes the other side of the sculpture: the roughness of his clothing becomes smooth, the bag becomes wings, and the hood transforms into hair.
The purpose of the sculpture recalls the message contained in the Scriptures: we are all invited to open our hearts, because only then will we have the possibility of seeing others as they really are, people with their humanity. Pope Francis, in an audience on 13 November 2024, reminded us that “touching a poor person, assisting a poor person, is ‘sacramental’ in the Church”. Indeed, accompanying the homeless gives a “concrete face to the Gospel of love”. “By offering them shelter, a meal, a smile, by extending your hands without fear of dirtying them”, we “restore their dignity”, and this “touches the heart of our world, often indifferent”.
Timothy Paul Schmalz also created the bronze sculpture “Angels Unaware”, which depicts a group of 140 migrants and is located in Saint Peter’s Square. The work was inaugurated by Pope Francis on 29 September 2019, on the occasion of the 105th World Day of Migrants and Refugees. The same artist produced the work “Jesus Homeless”, located in the space in front of the offices of the Apostolic Almoner, depicting Him sleeping on a bench wrapped in a light blanket. The work was installed in March 2016, during the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy.
