(ZENIT News / Rome, 06.25.2025).- As part of the Jubilee 2025, pilgrims visiting Rome will have the opportunity to take part in a unique spiritual journey guided by the voice of artist Timothy Paul Schmalz.
The project, titled Connecting Pilgrims Through Compassion, offers an urban pilgrimage through key sites across the Eternal City, where eight sculptures by the renowned Canadian sculptor are installed. Through this route, visitors can experience both a physical and spiritual journey in harmony with the deeper meaning of the Jubilee: the search for renewal, purpose, and mercy.
Compassion is the common thread linking all the sculptures, inspired by the biblical passages Hebrews 13:2 and Matthew 25. Each piece reminds us that acts of mercy are also encounters with Christ. According to Schmalz, “each sculpture is designed to speak the language of compassion and awaken the pilgrim’s awareness.”
The journey is accompanied by an audio guide narrated by the artist himself, offering personal and contextual interpretation of each work. The audio guide can be accessed by scanning a QR code available at each location. Along the way, participants are invited to recognize Christ in the most vulnerable and to live their faith through concrete acts of compassion and justice. Thus, walking through Rome becomes an act of reflection and inner commitment.
A Journey of Faith and Art Through Rome
The route begins in St. Peter’s Square with Angels Unawares, a life-size bronze sculpture blessed by Pope Francis in 2019 during the 105th World Day of Migrants and Refugees. The work depicts a group of migrants and refugees from different cultural, racial, and historical backgrounds.
Standing shoulder to shoulder on a boat, a pair of angel wings emerges from their midst, symbolizing the sacred presence among the marginalized.
The second stop is Be Welcoming, installed on April 15, 2025, also in St. Peter’s Square, designed to inspire a more open-hearted attitude toward the poor.
At the former Hospital of the Holy Spirit, pilgrims will be able to contemplate When I Was Sick and When I Was Hungry and Thirsty, two works that address human suffering and the act of alleviating it as profoundly sacred gestures.
Further along, in the Minor Basilica of San Lorenzo in Lucina, the sculpture When I Was a Stranger challenges viewers to reflect on welcoming the foreigner. The journey continues at the Basilica of San Pietro in Vincoli with When I Was Naked, and then at Piazza Sant’Egidio with the moving Homeless Jesus, already installed in over 150 cities worldwide.
The pilgrimage concludes at the Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls with When I Was in Prison, a piece that confronts the reality of incarceration from a Gospel-centered, humanizing perspective.
Connecting Pilgrims Through Compassion is not merely an artistic proposal but a true inner pilgrimage. At the heart of Jubilee 2025, this experience seeks to renew the spirit of thousands of visitors, inviting them to rediscover the beauty of compassion and the transformative power of art.
For more information and to access the full route, visit: connectingpilgrims.com.
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