HOMELESS JESUS - RECAP

 HOMELESS JESUS LOCATIONS

Austin TX 

Kitchener ON

Toronto U of T St; Regis College ORIGINAL

Toronto St. Stephen in the Fields 2018 (2)

Toronto St. Paul 2018 Bloor St. E

Florence Italy Badia Fiorentina Abbey 2019

Toronto St. Patrick Church McCaul St. 2021

Toronto Church of the Redeemer 2024

Toronto St. Andrew's 2024

Toronto Metropolitan United 2026

Montreal Quebec 2026

Homeless Jesus are designed by Timothy Schmalz, a Canadian sculptor and devout Catholic. 

Schmalz’s inspiration for the piece came after seeing a homeless man on Toronto’s University Ave. In past interviews, he’s said the man bore a striking resemblance to Jesus and that — too often in artist’s depiction of Christ — he is the image of physical perfection.

There are over 100 replicas of the Homeless Jesus sculpture installed in cities worldwide.

The statues are scattered across major global hubs, including:

The Vatican: Located at the Sant'Egidio Headquarters in Rome.

Israel: Placed in the historic town of Capernaum.

Europe: Dublin Ireland, Madrid Spain, Fatima Portugal, Belgium

United States: Notable installations include New York City (St. John the Divine) and Washington, D.C. and Tom The Backroads Traveler tells me Buffalo NY

United Kingdom: Replicas can be found in London, Manchester, and Glasgow.

Asia & Oceania: Prominently featured in Singapore and Melbourne.

Canada: At least six permanent replicas are located across the country, where the original was created

You can get more information about the ones we have found by reading the above individual linked posts. These posts also include details about the locations and some background.

Montreal Quebec 2026

 Located outside St. James United Church (Église Unie Saint-James) on Sainte-Catherine Street West. 

Toronto Metropolitan United 2026

Metropolitan United has been gifted a remarkable piece of artwork by the world renowned artist Timothy Schmaltz. Schmaltz has sculptures placed in sacred and public sites all around the world, and for many, is most well known for his "homeless Jesus" series. The piece that we are receiving is part of a series on Isaiah 58 and is entitled "Sheltering", which evokes themes of support, comfort and protection offered by the Holy Spirit. In humbling bit of symmetry, the same piece, at roughly the same time, will also be placed at the Cathedral in Odesa in Ukraine. 

Toronto St. Andrew's 2024

Both views of the homeless person and the angel from Timothy Schmalz's sculpture 'Be Welcoming'.

Toronto Church of the Redeemer 2024

When I Was Sick, was installed outside Church of the Redeemer, Bloor St. in September 2023. It is accompanied by a plaque that reads, “It dwells in this place as a shared calling and a commitment as a church, a city and a world to take care of those who are in need.”

Toronto St. Patrick Church McCaul St. 2021

Christ is portrayed as a homeless man naked and clinging to a piece of cardboard to keep him warm. Based on Matthew 25, “When I was Naked” confronts our prejudices against the impoverished and compels us to look deeper for a glimpse of the divinity and dignity within them.

Florence Italy 2019

The artwork is inspired by Matthew 25 and serves as a visual reminder to recognize the divine in the most marginalized and vulnerable members of society

Toronto St. Paul 2018 Bloor St. E

When I Was a Stranger. It is the latest addition to his When I Was series, inspired by the Gospel of Matthew.

The sculpture shows Christ encircled by six bronze stumps, representing seats that invite passers-by to join the lonely stranger. 

Toronto St. Stephen in the Fields 2018 

There are two sculptures in this church.

A miniature of Jesus The Panhandler is inside.

The statue, titled “Whatsoever You Do,” offers a visual representation of charity. The title is a reference to Jesus’s statement, “Whatsoever you do for the least of these, you do it for me.”

Toronto U of T

From afar, it looks like a homeless person lying on a bench, covered in a blanket. Get a little closer and you'll notice the nail marks on its feet. This is not just any person. This is Jesus.

Kitchener ON 2017

Inspired by Matthew: 25, this sculpture is a representation that suggests Christ is with the most marginalized in our society. The Christ figure is shrouded in a blanket the only indication that it is Jesus is the visible wounds on the feet. The life-size version of the work has enough room that someone is able to sit on the bench.

Austin TX 2015

The piece depicts a figure huddled under a blanket sleeping on a park bench. The face and hands are completely obscured, and the figure is only identifiable as Jesus by the crucifixion wounds (stigmata) on his bare feet.

Weekend Roundup

  Welcome to The Weekend Roundup...hosted by Tom The Back Roads Traveler

1. Starts with "Q"

2. A Favorite

3.  QUIET - Chosen by Tom

Starts with Q

I was going through some photos looking for something totally different, and came across this Q, there is an In-N-Out Burger in Fort Worth, Texas, located on Quebec Street.

QUEUE

A queue is a line of people, vehicles, or items waiting their turn, often used in British English (synonym: line/waiting list). As a verb, it means to form or wait in a line, often used as "queue up.

New Orleans LA

QUIET

Monday Mural

  I'm linking up at Monday Mural 

January 2025 - Pecos TX

Day 6 Odessa TX to Las Cruces NM

Joseph Ortiz, a Pecos resident described as a dedicated city employee, was selected by the city and Veterans Association to paint a mural downtown representing the U.S. military. He said his son’s service in the Marine Corps helped inspire the design.

Foto Tunes

April 2026 - Toronto ON

 Hosted by Tom The Backroads Traveller

 Two of Us - Aimee Mann

Two of us riding nowhere
Spending someone's
Hard earned pay

You and me Sunday driving
Not arriving
On our way back home
We're on our way home
We're on our way home
We're going home

Two of us sending postcards

Writing letters

On my wall

You and me burning matches

Lifting latches

On our way back home
We're on our way home
We're on our way home
We're going home

You and I have memories
Longer than the road that stretches out ahead

Two of us wearing raincoats

Standing so low

In the sun

You and me chasing paper

Getting nowhere
On our way back home
We're on our way home
We're on our way home
We're going home

Throwback Thursday - Shamrock TX

Shamrock TX 2024

Shamrock TX Murals 2017

November 2012 - Shamrock TX
March 2013 - Shamrock TX

We drove through Shamrock on our west and east bound trips IN 2012-2013.

Shamrock got its name from the first postmaster of the town; an Irish immigrant named George Nickle, in 1893.

The Tower Station and U-Drop Inn Café is located along historic Route 66 in Shamrock. Built in 1936 by J. M. Tindall and R. C. Lewis at the cost of $23,000, this gem of a building got its start in the dust when John Nunn drew his idea for the station on the ground with an old nail.

With its Art Deco detailing and two towers, the building was designed and constructed to be three separate structures. The first was the Tower Conoco Station, named for the dominating four-sided obelisk rising from the flat roof and topped by a metal tulip. The second was the U-Drop Inn Café, which got its name from a local schooolboy's winning entry in a naming contest. The third structure was supposed to be a retail store that instead became an overflow seating area for the café. The Tower Station was the first commercial business located on the newly designated Route 66 in Shamrock, and is one of the most imposing and architecturally creative buildings along the length of the road. 

Until about the late 1970s, the Tower Station and U-Drop Inn Café was light brick with green glazed tiles. Now refurbished with light pink concrete highlighted by green paint, it still looks much the same as it did during the heyday of the Mother Road. The towering spire above the service station still spells out C-O-N-O-C-O, a reminder of the booming business that the Tower Station and U-Drop Inn Café once saw.

Weekend Roundup

 Welcome to The Weekend Roundup...hosted by Tom The Back Roads Traveler

1. Starts with "J"
2. A Favorite
3. JOY - Chosen by Tom

Starts with J

JAIL The Cork City Jail (Gaol) in Ireland.

FAVOURITE

JACKIE and JOHN at the JAPANESE bridge in Hoi An Vietnam

JOY

Austin TX