Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
Catholic
‘Angels Unawares’ Sculpture Welcomes the Stranger at Catholic U

‘Angels Unawares’ Sculpture Welcomes the Stranger at Catholic U

Last updated on: December 8, 2021 at 7:50 am by Jack Hartjes

‘Angels Unawares’ Sculpture Welcomes the Stranger at Catholic U 2021-12-08T07:50:20-06:00 Jack Hartjes

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Figures crowded onto a small skiff; angel wings rise from the center.

Angels Unawares on the campus of Catholic University, Washington, D.C. (Image Credit: Catholic Univ.)

A sculpture visualizing one of Pope Francis’ key ideas stands on the campus of The Catholic University of America. “Angels Unawares” responds in concrete form to a verse in the Letter to the Hebrews:

Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it. (Hebrews 13:2)

Pope Francis commissioned Angels Unawares, by Canadian artist Timothy Schmalz, as a celebration of migrant people. The original is at home in the Vatican’s St. Peter’s Square, a place of welcome for all peoples of the world. A second casting, at CUA, finds another appropriate home in the capital of a country shaped largely by the migrant experience.

The sculpture shows some 140 figures packed tightly onto a 20-foot skiff. They are from many different historical times, homelands, and cultures. A recent Catholic U pamphlet describes them:

Some look back, but most look forward with hope toward the future and a new life. Parents hold tired, scared children who clutch their pets and stuffed animals.

Vatican News calls it “a stark reminder of so many of our brothers and sisters on the move.” The Holy Family stands among these migrants and refugees. In the center rises a pair of angel wings, suggesting the spiritual and sacred within all these people.

Angels Unawares on pilgrimage

In the Vatican Pope Francis unveiled the original casting of Angels Unawares September 29, 2019. That date is significant as the World Day of Migrants and Refugees. Catholic U reports that the Canadian author “felt strongly” that a second casting would belong in Washington, D.C. “The campus of Catholic University – the national university of the Catholic Church in the United States – was the perfect location.” (Disclosure: I am an alum of Catholic University.)

In October 2020, shortly after its installation at Catholic, Angels Unawares went on pilgrimage throughout the USA. Places it visited were: Boston, New York City, Atlanta, Miami, New Orleans, San Antonio, Napa Valley, Minneapolis, and Chicago. The celebration in Miami included a naturalization ceremony.

October 2021, finally back home at Catholic, the sculpture resides within a reflecting pool. The boat appears to be sailing into safe harbor.

Responses to the sculpture on tour

Catholic University’s “Light the Way” website quotes some responses by Catholic spokespersons at various stops along the sculpture’s tour through the U.S.

In Minneapolis, August 2021:

Look with compassion on refugees and exiles, on segregated persons and unlost children. Restore them, we pray to a homeland, and give us a kind heart for the needy and for strangers. (Donald J. Hying, bishop of Madison)

In San Antonio, June-July 2021:

San Antonio was built by people from different backgrounds and those fleeing violence and persecution for freedom and peace. We have been blessed because we have needed Christ’s call to welcome the stranger. Our faith reminds us that we are one hyuman family. (Gustavo García, archbishop of San Antonio)

New Orleans, April-May 2021:

We are related to them. It’s not just a sculpture of people. We can literally look at that and see, ‘that’s part of my history in that boat.’ (Gregory Aymond, archbishop of New Orleans)

Miami, February-March 2021:

The history of these United States — and of our South Florida community – is also the history of migration. It is your history … my history … our history…. We all are in the same boat. (Thomas Wenski, archbishop of Miami)

Atlanta, January 2021:

At the sculpture’s installation in Rome, Pope Frances said he wanted the sculpture ‘to remind everyone of the evangelical challenge of hospitality.’ We hope to do the same. (Carolyn Johnson, Georgia chapter co-leader, Georgia Patrons of the Arts in the Vatican Museums)

New York City, December 2020:

It is a symbol of what we want to be, and what we have been in the past, and what the future holds for us if we hold to our values as Americans. This has truly been a land where everyone has a stake. (Nicholas DiMarzio, bishop of Brooklyn

Boston, November 2020

You see people constantly walking around and taking pictures of it, trying to identify different people. The 140 figures … the Holy Family, the Rabbi, the slave. There is a real sense of people on the move. (Fr. James Keenan, professor of theology at Boston College)

Washington, D.C., October 2020:

Opening ourselves to others does not lead to impoverishment, but rather enrichment. It enables us to be more human. To recognize ourselves as participants in a greater collectivity. Understand our lives as a gift for others. See as the goal, not our own interests, but rather the good of humanity. (Brayan Hernandez, Class of 2022, Catholic University)

Uncategorized

Previous Post

December 6, 2021

Roe v Wade Debate Begins in Supreme Court; NY Times Writers Take Sides.

Next Post

December 14, 2021 Does Copernicus Have to be Wrong? Or, How the Bible Likes Modern Science

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Advent Christmas Amazon Synod Angels Being Consumed Bible Catholic Modern Creed Ecology Economics Elizabeth Johnson Eucharist Fragments and Filaments Gender and Sex Gospel of Mark Herzog Historical Jesus Liturgy Luke Opening Scriptures on Way to Emmaus Ordinary radicals Parables Pro-Life Reincarnation Rosary Sacraments science Social Justice Souls Stories of Jesus The Creed Torture and Eucharist Tracy Uncategorized War and Peace

Select a Month October 2026 June 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 November 2024 July 2024 March 2024 December 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz