Church altar featuring homeless man goes on display a stone’s throw from his grave at the Vatican
A painting by German artist Michael Triegel, featuring a homeless man named Burkhard Scheffler as St. Peter, is now on display at the Vatican. Scheffler, who died from the cold near St. Peter's Square in 2022, had posed for Triegel in 2018 for a drawing intended for a painting of the first pope. The artwork is the central panel of a triptych commissioned for the Protestant cathedral in Naumburg, Germany, intended to complete an altar originally by Lucas Cranach the Elder. Triegel, a Catholic convert, viewed the project as a way to 'heal' historical wounds from the 16th-century Reformation. The display location in the Vatican is near where Scheffler lived and died.
3 months ago
In 2018, German artist Michael Triegel sketched a homeless man in Rome, later using the likeness as St. Peter for a triptych altar commissioned in 2019 for Naumburg Cathedral.1
The central panel aimed to complete a Renaissance altar by Lucas Cranach the Elder, destroyed in 1541, featuring real people like a rabbi as St. Paul and Triegel's daughter as Mary.1
St. Peter, depicted bearded with a red baseball cap and a small key, was chosen for his alert eyes and relatable humanity.1
The model was Burkhard Scheffler, a German homeless man who posed unknowingly during begging near a Roman church.1
Scheffler struggled during COVID-19 lockdowns, was imprisoned in 2020 for threatening someone with a knife, and released weakened in late 2022.1
He died from the cold on November 25, 2022, at the edge of St. Peter’s Square.1
Pope Francis prioritized aid for the homeless, installing showers, a barber shop, and clinic at the Vatican.1
Following Scheffler's death, Francis prayed for him publicly, calling him "Jesus for each of us" in a 2023 homily and arranging his burial in the Teutonic cemetery near St. Peter’s tomb.1
Placement disputes in Naumburg risked UNESCO status, leading to a two-year loan of the altar to the Teutonic College chapel.1
A Vatican art expert recognized Scheffler as St. Peter, placing the artwork steps from his grave.1
Monsignor Peter Klasvogt called the coincidence unforgettable, honoring Scheffler through art, grave, and prayer.1
Triegel viewed the saga as worthwhile, healing historical wounds and giving Scheffler renewed visibility.1
Examine how the Catholic Church uses art to honor marginalized individuals
The Catholic Church has long employed art not merely as aesthetic expression but as a profound instrument of evangelization, dignity affirmation, and social witness, particularly in honoring marginalized individuals such as the poor, refugees, migrants, the handicapped, and other vulnerable groups. By commissioning works, fostering artistic creation among the marginalized themselves, and calling artists to prophetic roles, the Church transforms art into a bridge that reveals Christ's presence in human suffering, elevates the overlooked, and challenges society to solidarity.
Central to the Church's approach is the summons to artists to become interpreters of the marginalized's silent cries, positioning art as a counterforce to division and exclusion. Pope Francis, in addresses during Jubilee events, portrays artists as guardians of beauty who must "listen to the cry of those who are poor, suffering, wounded, imprisoned, persecuted or refugees," embodying the Beatitudes in a world erecting "new walls." He urges them to build bridges through their creations, rejecting art as escapism and instead making it "a charge, a call to action, an appeal and a cry" that educates in hope amid hardship. This prophetic dimension echoes in his plea to artists at the Vatican Museums: "do not forget the poor... The poor too have need of art and beauty... You can choose to become the interpreters of their silent plea," framing art as essential for those enduring "great hardship" without voice.
Such directives align with the Church's vision of art as inseparable from mercy, where creators are to reflect the Gospel's revolution of perspective—blessing the poor and persecuted—thus honoring the marginalized by making their realities visible and transformative in cultural spaces.
A distinctive way the Church honors the marginalized is by actively promoting their own artistic talents, affirming that "in art there are no handicaps." Pope John Paul II, addressing the Very Special Arts International organization, celebrated initiatives enriching handicapped lives through art, noting the Church's closeness to the weak and her pride in their membership. He emphasized art's power to express the "spiritual dimension" of every person, allowing the handicapped spirit to "soar" beyond bodily limits, as evidenced in global festivals showcasing their gifts.
Similarly, in a speech to participants in an Art Festival for the handicapped, John Paul II hailed the event as a "tangible demonstration" of their capacities, spurring societal integration and evoking the Good Samaritan's spirit to combat isolation. These efforts underscore art's role in revealing inherent dignity—"every human life is sacred... created in the image and likeness of God"—and fostering participation in social and cultural life. By organizing such platforms, the Church honors the handicapped not as objects of pity but as co-creators reflecting divine artistry.
Liturgical and monumental art within the Church further honors the marginalized by depicting the faithful—including the humble and overlooked—as integral to salvation history. In the restored Sistine Chapel, Pope John Paul II described the decorations as a "hymn to Christ" surrounded by the "pilgrim People of God," the Church as a "spiritual building" of "living stones," with special attention to leaders like Peter, whose humble expression in Perugino's Conferral of the Keys mirrors the sinner's dependence on Christ. This portrayal balances authority with vulnerability, inviting contemplation of Petrine ministry as service to the needy, thus elevating the marginalized as part of the ecclesial body.
The Church also uses art to reclaim beauty for the forgotten, urging its requalification of neglected places to prioritize "the poor, migrants, the elderly and the disabled who are alone." Pope Francis warns against distorted beauty tied to "hedonistic, commercial... criteria," advocating instead a sacred beauty uniting "grace and goodness," transforming "ugliness into beauty, degradation into opportunity." This mission, modeled on St. Joseph as guardian of incarnate beauty, positions art as restorative justice for society's peripheries. Vatican initiatives, like new museum entrances symbolizing welcoming thresholds, reinforce art's dialogic role in affirming human dignity amid materialism.
In these ways, art becomes a maternal embrace, echoing papal exhortations on migrants and refugees as bearing "the image of Christ," worthy of welcome and integration.
Through patronage, festivals, homilies, and masterpieces, the Church wields art to unveil the divine image in the marginalized, fostering encounter, hope, and action. This tradition, from Sistine frescoes to modern Jubilees, remains a living testament to her commitment, calling all to see in the vulnerable the face of the suffering Savior.