A sculpture depicting Jesus as a homeless man sleeping on a bench has been installed in Glasgow city centre.
Castings of the life-size statue have been placed in cities worldwide since 2013, although some churches have refused to display it.
Church and homeless charity representatives hope the sculpture will help raise awareness of homelessness.
Scottish artist Peter Howson has made a painting of a homeless Jesus that will be shown alongside the statue.
The world-famous sculpture, created by Canadian sculptor Timothy Schmalz, has been placed at Nelson Mandela Place, near Glasgow’s St George’s Tron Church, after planning permission was granted earlier this year.
Although the shrouded figure is fairly anonymous, the wounds in the feet signal it is meant to be Jesus.
Pope Francis once blessed a smaller version of the statue in Rome
Glasgow priest Father Willy Slavin helped bring the sculpture to Scotland. He was contacted by Mr Schmalz in 2015, and took the idea to the Glasgow Churches Together association.
The cost of the project was £25,000, with money raised through local churches and pro bono work.
Christian sculptor Timothy Schmalz was inspired when he saw a homeless person on a bench in Toronto.
He named the statue Matthew 25, in reference to a quote from that gospel – “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.”
Castings of the statue are placed near churches around the world, including in Madrid, Singapore and the Vatican.
A smaller version of the statue has been blessed by the Pope.
The first churches Mr Schmalz offered his statue to refused to display it. Others see the bench as controversial because it explicitly depicts Jesus as homeless.
Permission to install the UK’s first version of the statue on a pavement outside a Westminster church was rejected by the council there in 2016.
Peter Howson hopes to make prints of Homeless Jesus 2017 to raise money for homelessness charities
W Pope Francis once blessed a smaller version of the statue in Rome
‘Helpless situation’
Mr Howson, who has struggled with addiction in the past, created many paintings of Glasgow’s homeless population during the early years of his career.
He converted to Christianity about 20 years ago, and since many of his works have depicted biblical scenes.
The painting of homeless Jesus took him six weeks to complete.
About the process, he said: “It moved me in a way I wasn’t expecting and I was drawn to the lonely isolation and helpless situation of the figure depicted.”
After being displayed at the same church as the statue, Mr Howson’s painting will tour across Scotland at events that “promote and highlight the plight of homelessness”.
“I want people to look and think and understand its message. The Bronze [sculpture] speaks volumes. I hope my canvas will too” he said.
Source: bbc.com
