Images at National Eucharistic Congress ‘crystallize a moment,’ says sculptor

Pedro Madera Cuevas looked up at the 22-foot-tall statue outside St. John the Evangelist Church in Indianapolis.

“It reminds me so much of his divine grace,” said the young Catholic adult from the Archdiocese of Seattle. “He shed his blood for the whole world. It reminds me of how much he gave to all of us, like his whole life for the world.”

The sculpture is one of two pieces created by world-renowned Catholic sculptor Timothy Schmalz that were installed at the church across from the Indiana Convention Center for the National Eucharistic Congress. His faith-based pieces grace the Vatican and locations around the world, including two outside St. Elizabeth Catholic Charities in New Albany, Indiana.

The piece that Madera Cuevas admired is titled “This is My Body.”

A 22-foot-tall statue of Christ on a cross atop the world, blood from his wounds flowing into a chalice and bowl containing the Eucharist, is seen July 18, 2024, outside St. John the Evangelist Church across from the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis. The work was created by Catholic sculptor Timothy Schmalz for the National Eucharistic Congress. (OSV News photo/Natalie Hoefer, The Criterion)

“I like to have titles that are meaningful to the saint or to Scripture” depicted in his work, Schmalz told The Criterion, the newspaper of the Archdiocese of Indianapolis. “In this case, ‘This is My Body’ is taken from Christ’s words at the Last Supper.”

The second artwork, located near the entrance of the church, is an interactive sculpture that invites visitors to rest on a bench with a unique figure.

“On one hand, it’s a pilgrim,” Schmalz explained. “On the other hand, it transforms into an angel, where the pilgrim’s hood becomes the angel’s hair and the pilgrim’s backpack is actually the back of the angel’s wings. “It’s called ‘Be Welcoming.’ It’s a sculpture that you have to experience. Isn’t that cool?”

Josephine Petrulis thought so too.

“It reminds me of ‘don’t judge a book by its cover,'” said the young woman, who is from the Diocese of Richmond, Virginia. “On the outside, you see the pilgrim. On the inside, you see the angel. You don’t know what’s going on inside someone.”

Kimberlie Petrulis takes a photo as her daughter Josephine Petrulis works on a sculpture called “Be Welcoming” outside St. John the Evangelist Church in Indianapolis on July 18, 2024. The two Catholics from the Diocese of Richmond, Virginia, admired the piece, one of two created by Catholic sculptor Timothy Schmalz for the National Eucharistic Congress. (OSV News photo/Natalie Hoefer, The Criterion)

“I think works of art can crystallize a moment, and that’s what the two works of art I have hanging outside (the church) have really done in relation to the National Eucharistic Congress – one with the idea of ​​the pilgrim, and the other with the spirituality that takes place in the Eucharist.”

In the Congress Exhibition Hall at the Congress Center, Schmalz worked publicly on the model of a new statue of the Blessed — soon to be Saint — Carlo Acutis. The young man, who died in 2006 at the age of 15, was known for his devotion to the Eucharist and for creating a database of Eucharistic miracles.

“I started doing research and I thought, ‘This is a perfect, perfect person to celebrate here,’” Schmalz said. “With his love of the Eucharist and the fact that he was soon to be named a saint, the timing was perfect.”