"Homeless Jesus" statue comes to Detroit

A statue of Jesus as a homeless man will soon stand in front of the warming center at Ss. Peter & Paul Jesuit  Catholic Church on Jefferson Avenue in Detroit. 

The statue depicts Jesus sleeping on a park bench, with his punctured feet sticking out from underneath blankets, according to a press release. The 7-foot-long bronze statue was donated anonymously by a University of Detroit Law School grad. The statue was designed by Timothy Schmalz, a Canadian artist who's made Christian art for the past 20 years. 

A rendering of the statue was presented to the Pope, who blessed it and ordered a life-size version stand in the grand entrance to the Vatican.

Cities like Seattle, Washington D.C., Perth, and Dublin also have replicas of the statue. 

Detroit's statue will have an appropriate resting place. The warming center at Ss. Peter & Paul Jesuit Catholic Church has served 15,000 meals to people in need last year. 

The statue will be dedicated on June 28 in a public ceremony that's slated to begin at noon. The church is located at 629 W. Jefferson Ave., Detroit, Just across from the Renaissance Center.