The shocking assassination of Charlie Kirk, founder of Turning Point USA, left many grieving across the nation. For Catholic sculptor Timothy Schmalz, the tragedy inspired an uncommissioned work of art that he describes as both a prayer and a witness.
In an exclusive interview with Catholic News Agency (CNA), Schmalz shared that he began sculpting at 4 a.m. the morning after Kirk’s death. “Shocked and devastated,” he said he began forming the clay with Scripture playing in the background while listening to Kirk’s recorded debates. “It was a form of prayer,” he explained.
In the early stages of the work, Schmalz admitted that the face of Christ reflected his own grief. “When I first formed the face of Jesus, it was screaming with rage, reflecting the rage I myself felt at the time,” he told CNA. But as the piece developed, his outlook shifted: “As I worked, Jesus’ face became less angry and more compassionate. Hopefully, that will be how our society becomes… I hope our world will also turn from that rage.”
The finished sculpture shows Jesus covering the fatal wound on Kirk’s neck with His own pierced hand. For Schmalz, this was about restoring dignity to Kirk and resisting what he called the “barbaric” circulation of Kirk’s murder video online. “Can you give this person some dignity?” he asked. “My hope with the sculpture is that it gives some dignity to the human life of Charlie and to all of us.”
Schmalz told CNA that his work is part of a larger mission to fight the “culture of nihilism” with beauty and faith. “If we are in a culture war, we have to fight it with culture,” he said, citing his earlier work Angels Unawares as another testament to the sacredness of life.
He also shared how Kirk’s influence reached into his own family. After Kirk’s death, his teenage daughter revealed that she followed Kirk and even joined her high school debate club because of him. For Schmalz, it became the first time they discussed deep issues like abortion together.
A providential encounter soon ensured the statue would have a permanent home. Schmalz showed early photographs of the work to Mark Middendorf, president of Ave Maria University in Florida, who immediately responded: “That belongs on our campus,” according to CNA.
Ave Maria, which has hosted a chapter of Turning Point USA for years, reacted swiftly to Kirk’s passing, offering a campus Mass the evening of his death. Middendorf praised Kirk’s commitment to dialogue: “Engaging in peaceful dialogue with others who believe things contrary to ourselves is profoundly needed in our current climate.” He described the forthcoming sculpture as “a profound and lasting tribute to Charlie Kirk’s fearless witness, bold defense of life, and unwavering love for Jesus Christ.”
For Schmalz, his art is inseparable from prayer and mission. “My mission is to use artwork to bring peace to the world,” he said. “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.”
The new bronze statue of Christ and Charlie Kirk will stand on Ave Maria University’s campus alongside other works by Schmalz, including the massive bronze crucifix in the university oratory and a sculpture of the Annunciation on the rosary wall.
In his words, art has the power to reshape hearts: “We are slowly moving away from dignity in culture today. I wanted to do what I could to make the world more kind and peaceful” (CNA).
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