YOUNGSTOWN — The YMCA of Youngstown will dedicate its sculpture, “When I Was a Stranger” at 10 a.m. May 4 in front of the Central YMCA at 17 N. Champion St., downtown.

The sculpture was funded by private donations and is inspired by the scripture passage in Matthew 25:35 that is known as “When I Was a Stranger.”

Matthew 25:35 states, “I was a stranger and you welcomed me.” The sculpture is one of six that depicts the gospel story in which Jesus is portrayed as a stranger. The internationally acclaimed sculptor Timothy P. Schmalz created the sculpture. Schmalz is dedicated to creating Christian artwork.

Youngstown is one of only four cities that have all six of the Matthew 23 sculptures. All are located in the downtown area, with one next to St. Columba Cathedral, one in front of First Presbyterian Church and one in front of St. John’s Episcopal Church, both on Wick Avenue, and one in front of St. Elizabeth Youngstown Hospital. Other cities with all six include Rome, Detroit and Cleveland.

“It is fitting to have ‘When I Was a Stranger’ at our Y,” said Tom Gacse, YMCA president and CEO, “because the Y is a welcoming place where all can belong. The Central Y has a rich history of welcoming strangers.”

The Central Y has been a part of the community for 139 years. Housing was provided on its upper floors during the 20th century, and immigrants were welcomed from around the world to the Mahoning Valley.

Illustrating Matthew 23 was the story of Tony Lariccia’s father, an immigrant from Italy in the early 1900s.

An important donor to the construction of the Davis Family YMCA in Boardman was the late Lariccia, who said he was advised by his father throughout his childhood and into adulthood to “not forget about the YMCA.”

Lariccia explained his father said the Central YMCA was “there for me when I came to Youngstown from Italy and provided a place to sleep, shower and live.”

The Lariccia family donated so that the Davis Family Y could be built, all because the Central Y “welcomed a stranger” and made him feel at home, Gacse said.

For more information, visit www.ymcayo.org.