While the nation’s capital is known as a city of great national monuments, to the archbishop of Washington, ours is also the city of living monuments, the homeless.
“They are a reminder that our hearts need to be softened and moved,” Cardinal Wilton Gregory said on Oct. 1, at the blessing ceremony for a bronze statue dedicated to the homeless, The Home Coming, at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception.
During a rainy Saturday morning, on a weekend when the Washington area absorbed the remnants of Hurricane Ian, the Chicago-born prelate addressed a group of a few dozen worshippers in a crowded room near the Basilica’s entrance during the 15-minute ceremony.
“These men and women are also a monument,” he said, before stepping outside to bless the statues. “They need our attention and above all else, our love.”
The bronze statues are located at the East Portico of the Basilica, the creation of Richard R. Troxell, who had previously written a book on homelessness, and who discerned over time that creating artwork would be a more effective way of conveying a message to a wider audience.
Working off a concept that his daughter Colleen first pursued through fired clay, Troxell created four life-sized figures to tell the story of contemporary homelessness: John, a homeless veteran; Colleen, his daughter who finds shelter in the folds of his expensive coat; Ms. Anateen, an older woman of color who represents the working poor; and Joey, the pet dog of John and Colleen. In need of warmth and perhaps companionship, Ms. Anateen finds herself welcomed by John and Colleen.
“It’s the story of people who don’t have anything, but who are willing to give what they have: the warmth of fire,” Troxell said in his remarks at the statue blessing, which included prayers of the faithful and a reading of the Biblical account of Jesus’s Sermon on the Mount.
Msgr. John Enzler, the longtime president and CEO of Catholic Charities of The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington, helped introduce Troxell and his concept to Msgr. Walter R. Rossi, rector of the National Shrine, after an initial effort to place The Home Coming outside Catholic Charities headquarters was not practical. Troxell had unveiled the original sculpture in May 2019 in Austin, Texas, where his sculptor teacher, Steve Dubois, works.
“I believe more people realize the plight of the homeless,” Msgr. Enzler told the Catholic Standard.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Catholic Charities saw the need for their food and shelter services roughly double – 235,000 people served in 2021 after assisting 120,000 the previous year. Catholic Charities of The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington serves about five million meals a year, many to homeless individuals, according to Msgr. Enzler. Known as a priest with a strong personal touch, Msgr. Enzler has gotten to know the names and stories of many people experiencing homelessness who use Catholic Charities services.
“It’s a good addition to the Shrine,” Msgr. Rossi said. “Everyone here is a saint,” he said, making the connection between canonized saints who are included in the statues and stained glass windows inside the National Shrine, and those who are not canonized but known by the sanctity of their lives, which can include the homeless.
Many people who live or work in the nation’s capital and surrounding areas recognize the homeless by the tents that some of them live in, but relatively few people speak with the homeless, Msgr. Rossi said. “This puts a face on the homeless,” he said, and the statue reflects how the Catholic Church tends to champion the underdog, out of a spirit of solidarity and Christian charity.
