Jesus the Homeless

Jennifer Nunes
Aug 14
2 min read

“I was homeless and you took me in…” (Mt 25:35)

During my recent pilgrimage to Fatima, I walked through the Sanctuary of Fátima at night —to find Jesus the Homeless. I had heard of the sculpture before, but nothing prepared me for the moment I saw Him: life-size, lying on a bench, covered in a blanket, only His pierced feet exposed. My heart ached. There He was—wounded, forgotten, and alone.

As the new Mission and Outreach Coordinator at St. Mary’s Parish, my heart has been pierced. Here at the "Altar of the world" , Jesus reveals Himself not in glory, but in suffering—unhoused, vulnerable, and often unnoticed.

I’ve been to Fátima many times—something I don’t take for granted and know I'm very blessed—and at least five times since this sculpture was inaugurated. I am guilty of never noticing it either. But Jesus draws me to Himself and to this specific suffering very intimately now.

Although it’s just a sculpture, the emotions it stirred in me were real. My immediate instinct was to want to hug Him, to comfort Him. I wanted to cover Him, warm Him, and whisper that He is not forgotten and apologize for not noticing Him sooner.

And those feet. The wounds of the Crucified visible and unmistakable. They tell the whole story—of a God who walked among us, who was nailed, abandoned, and now lies quietly in the forgotten corners of our cities throughout the whole world. Those feet have walked the dusty roads of Galilee, carried the weight of the Cross, and now rest—exposed and vulnerable—on a park bench. And they call out to usl: “Will you recognize Me? Will you love Me here?”

I stood there in silence, overwhelmed. This is the Jesus we seek to serve in our mission—the Jesus who sleeps in doorways, who eats what he’s given, who longs not just for shelter, but for love.

This sculpture is more than art. It’s a Gospel proclamation. A call to recognize Christ in the poor. A reminder that our outreach is not charity—it is encounter.

To serve the homeless is to kneel at the feet of Jesus....