The day after Charlie Kirk was assassinated, renowned Catholic sculptor Timothy Schmalz began working on a sculpture no one had commissioned: Jesus comforting the slain conservative Christian activist, the fatal wound to his neck covered by Christ’s pierced hand.
“Shocked and devastated” upon hearing of the Turning Point USA founder’s assassination, in an exclusive interview Schmalz told CNA he entered his studio at 4 a.m. the following day and began building up the sculpture with his hands as “a form of prayer.”
“I had an audio recording of the Old Testament playing in the background and Charlie’s voice debating at the same time as I sculpted,” he said.
When he first formed the face of Jesus, Schmalz said it was screaming with rage, reflecting the rage he himself felt at the time.
“This was the murder of a human being. It was also a violent attack on the premise that we can have discussions as decent human beings,” said Schmalz, who had listened to Kirk regularly and admired him for his courage and energy. “When he was murdered, it was like our freedoms were murdered as well.”
“Another reaction I had was horror at seeing the murder on video over and over again,” he said. “Can you give this person some dignity? Not only are people absolutely barbarically rude when it comes to social media, but now you have this other layer of removing things that are sacred: the idea that a human life should not be murdered.”
Seeing it posted everywhere made it “seem more barbaric and animalistic,” he said.
“All of this really compelled me to do something positive within this horrible situation,” Schmalz said. “I wondered, how would Charlie, who loved Jesus, want to be represented?”
“As I worked, Jesus’ face became less angry and more compassionate,” he said.
“Hopefully, that will be how our society becomes. Hopefully, like my sculpture of the face of Christ, it will change. I had him enraged and then it turned. I hope our world will also turn from that rage.”
“My hope with the sculpture is that it gives some dignity to the human life of Charlie and to all of us. We are slowly moving away from this dignity in culture today,” he lamented, saying he wanted to do what he could to make the world “more kind and peaceful.”
‘If we are in a culture war, we have to fight it with culture’
“We are in a culture of nihilism, and our secular society has to be challenged,” he said. “If we are in a culture war, we have to fight it with culture.”
“I have spent my life doing sculptures like my sculpture ‘Angels Unawares’ that presents the truth that all human life is sacred,” he said.
The day after Kirk’s death, Schmalz and his 16-year-old daughter, who he had been unaware also followed Kirk, began talking about “important issues like abortion.” She told Schmalz she had joined the high school debating club because of Kirk.
“It was the first time I had such a conversation about deep issues with my daughter,” Schmalz told CNA.
A fortuitous meeting
Schmalz told CNA that after showing Ave Maria University President Mark Middendorf photographs of the sculpture, which was still in its early stages, at a fortuitous meeting in Orlando in mid-September, Middendorf told him “that belongs on our campus” and asked if the school could receive the first bronze casting.
Schmalz agreed, and the sculpture will soon be installed at the Catholic school in southwest Florida.
Middendorf told CNA that the Ave Maria University community, which has had an active Turning Point USA chapter for years, responded immediately to news of Kirk’s passing. An on-campus Mass was offered for the repose of Kirk’s soul on the evening of his death.
“I admired Charlie’s search for truth,” Middendorf said. “Engaging in peaceful dialogue with others who believe things contrary to ourselves is profoundly needed in our current climate. My hope is that our students will continue to engage our culture with courage, sharing the truths of our faith.”On Sept. 14, the feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, Middendorf said Deacon Mark Miravalle in his homily recalled one of Kirk’s own remarks: “When asked, ‘Why does God allow suffering or evil?’ Kirk had once responded: ‘Wrong question. The right question is: What did God do about it? The answer: the cross.’”
Statue to stand as ‘lasting tribute to Charlie Kirk’s fearless witness’
Middendorf said the sculpture will serve as a “profound and lasting tribute to Charlie Kirk’s fearless witness, bold defense of life, and unwavering love for Jesus Christ.”
The university president told CNA he also wants the sculpture “to serve as inspiration for students to live and share their faith with heroic courage and to use their God-given gifts to transform the culture and seek the salvation of souls, which is why Tom Monaghan built this university, and why I and all our faculty and staff are here.”
The bronze sculpture will not be the first piece of Schmalz’s work on campus. Monaghan commissioned him to make the university oratory’s crucifix. In addition, along the school’s rosary wall, Schmalz also made a sculpture depicting the Annunciation.
Art as a form of evangelization
The acclaimed artist attributes his success to seeing his work as a form of prayer and his studio as a chapel, in a sense. He also sees his work as a form of evangelization, which he said is “unique” in the current art world that does not value beauty or truth.
“If the truth of our faith were presented in an awesome way, you would have more people coming to Christ. People are spiritually starving out there. We need to reach out to them however we can,” including through beautiful art, he said.
“My mission is to use artwork to bring peace to the world,” Schmalz said. “We have to be better humans.”
Pope Leo-inspired statue in the offing
Earlier this week, the artist met with Pope Leo XIV to present his idea for a new sculpture titled “Peace Be With You,” inspired by the pope’s first message to the world upon being elected pontiff in May.
Schmalz’s works are on display all over the world. He created a sculpture of the Blessed Virgin Mary pregnant with Jesus that will be displayed on the grounds of the state capitol in Austin, Texas, after that state’s Legislature approved in May the installation of what it calls the “Texas Life Monument.”
Earlier versions of the 8-foot-tall statue were erected in Rome in 2022 at the Church of San Marcello al Corso and at the national seminary of The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.
The Canadian artist’s “Homeless Jesus” statue, inaugurated in March 2016 during the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy in Vatican City, is now installed in more than 50 locations around the world, including Hong Kong, the end of the Camino de Santiago in Spain, and in Capernaum in Israel.
