Staff report

YOUNGSTOWN — Bishop David Bonnar of the Diocese of Youngstown will celebrate a memorial Mass and dedicate the Homeless Jesus sculpture in memory of the Rev. Nicholas Shori on April 20 on the fifth anniversary of Shori’s death.

Officials said upon his passing in 2016, Shori made a gift to the Diocese for the installation of the Homeless Jesus sculpture at the Diocesan Central Offices in downtown Youngstown.

Shori served as the longtime pastor of St. Paul the Apostle Parish in New Middletown and as the diocesan director of the Office of Evangelization, among many other positions and ministries throughout the Diocese of Youngstown and the Mahoning Valley.

He befriended internationally acclaimed sculptor Timothy P. Schmalz, whose work Shori featured at St. Paul the Apostle Parish. Shori and Schmalz worked together to plan for the installation of the Homeless Jesus sculpture at the diocesan offices.

Bonnar will celebrate a memorial Mass at St. Columba Cathedral at 9:30 a.m. April 20, and the sculpture dedication will follow at 10:30 a.m. at West Wood and North Hazel streets. In observance of safety protocols, the Mass is by invitation only, however it may also be viewed online by visiting the diocesan website, DOY.org, and selecting Cathedral Live Stream from the Media dropdown box on the top menu. The outdoor sculpture dedication will be open to the public.

The Rev. Msgr. John Zuraw, chancellor of the Diocese, said the Homeless Jesus sculpture is part of a series of designs by Schmalz that reflect Jesus’ teachings recorded in Matthew 25. The most notable installation of this sculpture is featured at the Papal Charities Building in Vatican City.

From the website of Schmalz’s firm, Sculpture by TPS, “The Homeless Jesus sculpture is a visual representation of Matthew 25. The sculpture suggests that Christ is with the most marginalized in our society. The Christ figure is shrouded in a blanket with His face covered with the only indication that the figure is Jesus being the visible wounds on the feet.”

Other local sculptures in the series include “When I Was Naked” at St. John’s Episcopal Church and “When I Was Hungry and Thirsty” at First Presbyterian Church of Youngstown, both on Wick Avenue.

Officials said “When I Was Sick” was planned for installation at St. Elizabeth Youngstown Hospital on Belmont Ave.

Sculpture by TPS is hoping that the two remaining sculptures in the series, “When I Was In Prison” and “When I Was a Stranger,” find donors and locations in Youngstown. When the series is complete, Youngstown will join Rome as one of the few cities in the world featuring all sculptures in this series, Zuraw said.

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