{"id":102453,"date":"2025-12-20T09:37:14","date_gmt":"2025-12-20T09:37:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/102453\/"},"modified":"2025-12-20T09:37:14","modified_gmt":"2025-12-20T09:37:14","slug":"san-diego-bishop-dedicates-sculpture-honoring-migrants-and-refugees-at-university-of-san-diego-campus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/102453\/","title":{"rendered":"San Diego bishop dedicates sculpture honoring migrants and refugees at University of San Diego campus"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n \"Jim
\n <\/a><\/p>\n

By Jim Graves<\/a>\n <\/p>\n

San Diego, California, Dec 19, 2025 \/
\n 15:22 pm<\/p>\n

Bishop of San Diego Michael Pham dedicated \u201cAngels Unawares,\u201d a new sculpture on the campus of the University of San Diego (USD), on Thursday.\u00a0The 8-foot-tall bronze sculpture by artist Timothy Schmalz is a scaled version of one in St. Peter\u2019s Square in Rome commissioned by Pope Francis in 2019 and depicts 140 migrants of varying backgrounds on board a boat with a pair of angel wings in their midst.<\/p>\n

According to USD President Jim Harris, the sculpture is intended to remind the viewer \u201cof how biblical teachings encourage us to care for our most poor and vulnerable communities, including those who flee their countries in search of a better life.\u201d<\/p>\n

Located in front of the Joan B. Kroc School of Peace Studies on the western edge of campus, the new sculpture is situated in the perfect position, said Michael Lovette-Colyer, USD vice president of mission integration.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt will be the first thing visitors see when they enter our campus,\u201d he explained. \u201cIt overlooks the Pacific Ocean, with the boat pointing towards the heart of our campus. It calls to mind that our campus is a welcoming place.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"“Angels Unawares,” a new sculpture on the campus of the University of San Diego (USD), was installed on Thursday, Dec. 18, 2025. The 8-foot-tall bronze sculpture is a scaled version of one in St. Peter\u2019s Square in Rome that was commissioned by Pope Francis in 2019 and depicts 140 migrants of varying backgrounds on board a boat with a pair of angel wings in their midst. Credit: University of San Diego<\/p>\n

Lovette-Colyer also noted that the campus was located near a United States international border with Mexico, \u201cso our geographic location calls for all people to respect human dignity.\u201d<\/p>\n

Victor Carmona, USD associate professor of theology and religious studies for the past eight years, also said he believes the installation reflects \u201ca desire for USD to continue being a welcoming place.\u201d\u00a0He said he is \u201cexcited\u201d about the sculpture\u2019s installation, believing \u201cit connects USD to the global Church in terms of priorities and mission.\u201d<\/p>\n

The work of artist Timothy Schmalz<\/p>\n

The sculpture is the creation of Canadian artist Timothy Schmalz, who attended the event and has created images in bronze for historical churches in Rome as well as worldwide.<\/p>\n

Schmalz is also known for his \u201cHomeless Jesus\u201d sculpture depicting Jesus as a homeless man sleeping on a park bench and his \u201cWhen I Was in Prison,\u201d depicting Jesus behind bars.<\/p>\n

The original \u201cHomeless Jesus\u201d sculpture was installed at Regis College in Toronto; the statue has been copied and installed at more than 90 other locations worldwide since.\u00a0\u201cWhen I Was in Prison\u201d can be found at the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls in Rome.<\/p>\n

The \u201cAngels Unawares\u201d piece, Schmalz said, was inspired by the Scripture passage \u201cDo not neglect hospitality, for through it some have unknowingly entertained angels [or \u201cangels unawares\u201d in other translations]\u201d (Heb 13:2). Schmalz got the idea for the piece after a conversation with Jesuit Father (now Cardinal) Michael Czerny, former undersecretary of the Migrants and Refugees section of the Vatican\u2019s Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

In 2017, Schmalz recalled, Czerny \u201csuggested that I start thinking about creating a sculpture on migrants and refugees, not just because it is a crisis today but as always important throughout human history.\u201d<\/p>\n

He explained that the work \u201cdepicts a group of migrants and refugees from different cultural and racial backgrounds and from diverse historic periods of time.\u00a0They stand together, shoulder to shoulder, huddled on a raft.\u201d<\/p>\n

The angel wings emerge from their midst, \u201csuggesting the presence of the sacred among them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Replicas of the work have since gone on tour for viewing by the faithful throughout the U.S.; replicas have been installed at both The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., and St. Joseph\u2019s Oratory in Canada.\u00a0USD president Harris wanted a replica installed on his campus after viewing \u201cAngels Unawares\u201d in Rome, as \u201cit aligned with USD\u2019s Catholic mission and values,\u201d he said.\u00a0The sculpture was funded by an anonymous donor.<\/p>\n

(Story continues below)<\/p>\n

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\u201cI hope this sculpture can provide our Torero community with feelings of compassion that transcend all borders and politics,\u201d Harris said.<\/p>\n

\"AccordingAccording to USD President Jim Harris, the “Angels Unaware” sculpture is intended to remind the viewer \u201cof how biblical teachings encourage us to care for our most poor and vulnerable communities, including those who flee their countries in search of a better life.\u201d Credit: Photo courtesy of University of San Diego<\/p>\n

Schmalz said the purpose of \u201cAngels Unawares\u201d as well as all his art \u201cis to evangelize and preach the Gospel.\u201d Nearly all of the 140 migrants featured on the boat are of actual people he researched; some are based on the faces of live models who came to his Toronto-area studio.\u00a0Many of his ideas came from photographs of migrants who passed through New York Harbor\u2019s Ellis Island.\u00a0And two of the figures are based on the parents of Czerny, who were once migrants from Hungary fleeing communism.<\/p>\n

The artist said he believes \u201cAngels Unawares\u201d is in the same category as the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor, \u201cbut with faces and a spiritual centering.\u201d\u00a0He added that art was an effective tool that the Catholic Church can use to convey the \u201cChristian message\u201d and described himself as \u201can artist soldier for the Vatican.\u201d<\/p>\n

International Migrants Day<\/p>\n

The blessing of the sculpture by Pham coincided with the United Nations\u2019 International Migrants Day. Pham was invited not only because he is the bishop of San Diego and a member of the college\u2019s board of trustees but also because he, too, was a migrant, having fled Vietnam in 1980.<\/p>\n

Thursday\u2019s blessing began with 12:15 p.m. Mass, with Pham as presider, followed by the unveiling of the sculpture. Harris offered remarks; participants included members of the USD faculty, staff, and student body.<\/p>\n

\"BishopBishop of San Diego Michael Pham dedicates \u201cAngels Unawares,\u201d a new sculpture on the campus of the University of San Diego, on Dec. 18, 2025. The 8-foot-tall bronze sculpture is a scaled version of one in St. Peter\u2019s Square in Rome that was commissioned by Pope Francis in 2019. Credit: University of San Diego<\/p>\n

Lovette-Colyer acknowledged that the sculpture installation coincided with a time of contentious debate over immigration in the United States and other countries, with Catholics passionately advocating on both sides of the issue.<\/p>\n

Referencing recent statements and a video by the U.S. Catholic Conference of Bishops promoting a more generous immigration policy, he said: \u201cWe\u2019re on the side of Pope Francis and Pope Leo, our local Bishop Pham and his predecessor [Cardinal Robert] McElroy on the issue. We acknowledge there are political dimensions, but we don\u2019t want to be partisan. As Pope Francis emphasized, we want to be humane and respect the dignity of all human persons.\u201d<\/p>\n

He continued: \u201cImmigration is a topic that evokes strong feelings. It is an important issue for our students to learn about and consider. The sculpture can be a conversation starter in the classroom, where our students can discuss it critically and carefully.\u201d<\/p>\n


\n \"Jim
\n <\/a><\/p>\n

Jim Graves is a Catholic writer and editor living in Newport Beach, California. He previously served as Managing Editor for the Diocese of Orange Bulletin, the official newspaper of the Diocese of Orange, California. His work has appeared in the National Catholic Register, Our Sunday Visitor, Cal Catholic Daily and Catholic World Report.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"By Jim Graves San Diego, California, Dec 19, 2025 \/ 15:22 pm Bishop of San Diego Michael Pham…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":102454,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[55625,18223,55622,55623,74,76,75,8673,55624,1181],"class_list":{"0":"post-102453","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-san-diego","8":"tag-angels-unawares","9":"tag-catholic-news","10":"tag-international-migrants-day","11":"tag-migrants-and-refugees","12":"tag-san-diego","13":"tag-san-diego-headlines","14":"tag-san-diego-news","15":"tag-sculpture","16":"tag-timothy-schmalz","17":"tag-us"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102453","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=102453"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102453\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/102454"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=102453"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=102453"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=102453"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}