(WBBM NEWSRADIO) – Chicago’s Saint Sabina Church on Monday unveiled a sobering statue of Jesus weeping over a shooting victim to highlight the terrible toll that gun violence has taken on the surrounding community.
The piece is by Toronto-area sculptor Timothy P. Schmalz, who said he was not commissioned specifically by the South Side church to create the tableau. Rather, he said, he sculpted the scene as a broader statement about gun violence in North America.
“I’m glad it found a home,” Schmalz told WBBM Newsradio.
The statue, which is in Saint Sabina’s courtyard, includes graphic details such as the bullet holes in the young man for whom Jesus is weeping. It’s installed in front of photographs of young gun-violence victims.
Canadian sculptor Timothy Schmalz working on the clay maquette of "Thou Shalt Not Kill."courtesy of Timothy Schmalz
Church Pastor Michael Pfleger was joined at Monday’s dedication by mothers who have lost children to gun violence. He said he hopes the statue gives people pause.
“We hope that when people come and look at these pictures and see this sculpture that maybe it’ll put something on their heart or something in mind, some conviction, that this is not acceptable,” Pfleger said.
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