Students at the new Saint John Paul II Academy in Surrey, B.C.,  can soon eat their lunches beside a bronze Christ, the latest work from the Canadian sculptor whose most famous piece, Homeless Jesus, has been installed in cities around the globe, including at the Vatican.

The Surrey high school is preparing to install The Last Supper Table, a massive granite work with 12 empty seats and Christ at the centre. Designed by Timothy Schmalz, the interactive sculpture invites students to sit with Jesus daily — making them, in his words, “the apostles of today.”

Donated by Star of the Sea parishioners Joseph and Holly King, The Last Supper Table will be placed in the heart of the school’s new campus courtyard. With garage-style doors opening from the dining hall, students will see it every day and be able to gather around it, turning the artwork into a living part of school life.

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“When you look at it late at night, Jesus is sitting there alone, beckoning,” Schmalz said in an interview with the Saint John Paul II podcast Catholic Education Matters hosted by academy founder and chair Troy Van Vliet. “But when people sit down — whether children at lunch or a family gathered together — they complete the sculpture. They become part of the art.”

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At Saint John Paul II Academy, The Last Supper Table will join the growing list of Schmalz’s works installed in public spaces around the world, including perhaps his most famous work, Homeless Jesus, that has been installed in more than 200 cities. 

For Schmalz, the meaning of his latest work is intensely practical. The 12 empty chairs are not decorative. They are waiting to be filled.

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“When people sit there, they become part of the art. It reminds us our faith isn’t an ornament,” he said. “The Last Supper requires us to be a part of it.”

For the students of Surrey/White Rock, that reminder will be waiting every day at lunchtime: Christ at the table, inviting them to take their place.