Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters

Take your next trip with Atlas Obscura!

Our small-group adventures are inspired by our Atlas of the world's most fascinating places, the stories behind them, and the people who bring them to life.

Visit Adventures
Trips Highlight
View all trips
Top Destinations
Latest Places
Most Popular Places Random Place Lists Itineraries
Add a Place
Download the App
Top Destinations
View All Destinations »

Countries

  • Australia
  • Canada
  • China
  • France
  • Germany
  • India
  • Italy
  • Japan

Cities

  • Amsterdam
  • Barcelona
  • Beijing
  • Berlin
  • Boston
  • Budapest
  • Chicago
  • London
  • Los Angeles
  • Mexico City
  • Montreal
  • Moscow
  • New Orleans
  • New York City
  • Paris
  • Philadelphia
  • Rome
  • San Francisco
  • Seattle
  • Stockholm
  • Tokyo
  • Toronto
  • Vienna
  • Washington, D.C.
Latest Places
View All Places »
A hydroelectric turbine runner which originally was used at Manitoba Hydro’s Great Falls generating station, and is now installed outside the museum.
Manitoba Electrical Museum
The site in 2012.
La Belle Creole
L’évasion - Chapitre 1.
L'Évasion (The Escape)
Studio in action.
Creativity Explored
Latest Places to Eat & Drink
View All Places to Eat »
Art at the VCC
Vintage Cocktail Club
The Buckhorn Saloon exterior
The Buckhorn Saloon and Opera House
The cozy interiors of Monozuki Cafe
Monozuki Cafe
Inside Mothership at the Bar
Mothership
Pagoda at Yamashiro
Yamashiro
Recent Stories
All Stories Video Podcast
Most Recent Stories
View All Stories »
The robotic instrument at the center of Moving Monuments incorporates found objects from across the city.
This Musical Robot Celebrates Toronto’s Vibrant Rhythms
The SS Edmund Fitzgerald was the largest freighter on the Great Lakes when it was built.
Why Is TikTok Obsessed With a 50-Year-Old Shipwreck?
Why Does the Salish Sea Glow in the Dark?
Repurposed finds, robotic elements and recorded vocals create a symphonic ode to Toronto.
Capturing Toronto’s Vibrant Rhythms in Sculpture

No search results found for
“”

Make sure words are spelled correctly.

Try searching for a travel destination.

Places near me Random place

Popular Destinations

  • Paris
  • London
  • New York
  • Berlin
  • Rome
  • Los Angeles
Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Sign In Join
Places near me Random place
All Vatican City 'Angels Unawares'

'Angels Unawares'

The first statue to be added to Saint Peter's Square in over 350 years is an ode to migrants and refugees around the world.

Vatican City

Added By
David Koppers
Email
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list
CAPTION
  DavidK / Atlas Obscura User
  DavidK / Atlas Obscura User
  DavidK / Atlas Obscura User
  DavidK / Atlas Obscura User
  DavidK / Atlas Obscura User
Shiny nose   littleo16 / Atlas Obscura User
  LeviEthan107 / Atlas Obscura User
  JJGQ / Atlas Obscura User
  JJGQ / Atlas Obscura User
  JJGQ / Atlas Obscura User
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list

About

Statues dating back as early as the 13th-century fill and surround Saint Peter's Square in Vatican City. Among the crowd is one piece much younger than the rest. In 2019, Angels Unawares, was the first statue added to the square in over 350 years. 

The 20-foot bronze statue depicts a life-sized group of 140 migrants and refugees. In Angels Unawares, the crowd huddles on a boat, surrounding a pair of angel wings. The group represents many migrant and refugee stories—from a young Irish boy fleeing famine to a Syrian refugee escaping civil war to Mary and Joseph. In September 2019, Pope Francis revealed the sculpture on World Migrant and Refugee Day.

The piece was sculpted by Canadian artist Timothy Schmalz and was inspired by the biblical verse Hebrews 13:2: "Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares."

 

 

Related Tags

History War Immigration Refugees Sculptures

Community Contributors

Added By

DavidK

Edited By

littleo16, LeviEthan107, JJGQ

  • littleo16
  • LeviEthan107
  • JJGQ

Published

March 4, 2024

Edit this listing

Make an Edit
Add Photos
'Angels Unawares'
00120
Vatican City
41.902223, 12.456728
Visit Website

Nearby Places

Vatican City Walls

Vatican City

miles away

La Resurrezione

Vatican City

miles away

Vatican Necropolis

Vatican City

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Vatican City

Vatican City

Europe

Places 9
Stories 3

Nearby Places

Vatican City Walls

Vatican City

miles away

La Resurrezione

Vatican City

miles away

Vatican Necropolis

Vatican City

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Vatican City

Vatican City

Europe

Places 9
Stories 3

Related Places

  • Türk Öğün, Çalış, Güven (Turk be proud, work hard and have trust)

    Ankara, Turkey

    Güvenlik Anıtı (Security Monument)

    A monument completed by a Third Reich sculptor in 1935 in Ankara's central park encourages Turks to "be proud, work hard, and have trust."

  • Lincoln overlooking the town of Wabash, IN

    Wabash, Indiana

    The Lincoln Monument

    Abraham Lincoln never visited Wabash, but his statue found a home there.

  • Norton, Massachusetts

    King Philip's Cave

    Ghostly specters are said to haunt this secluded cave where a famed Wampanoag leader spent the final days of his life.

  • Wemding, Germany

    'Zeitpyramide' ('Time Pyramid')

    An abstract sculpture that will be a work in progress for the next 1,000 years.

  • Oslo, Norway

    'Glory Glory with Crutches'

    Located within military grounds, this one-legged bronze soldier poignantly showcases the human cost of war.

  • Three female and one child prisoner are shown arriving in Van Diemen’s Land (now Tasmania).

    Hobart, Australia

    'Footsteps Towards Freedom'

    Three women and a 10-year-old boy are immortalized in this sculpture memorializing the 13,000 women and children convicts sent to Van Diemen’s Land (now Tasmania) between 1803 and 1853.

  • The antique, embossed tin on the walls and ceiling of the Martin Hotel have an “Arabesque” design motif, popular at the time of establishment.

    Winnemucca, Nevada

    The Martin Hotel

    It may no longer take overnight guests, but the Martin still makes out-of-towners feel at home—just like it has for the past century.

  • House-made hummus, falafel, and dolmas (stuffed grape leaves) at Jasmine Syrian.

    Aurora, Colorado

    Mango House

    At this multicultural hub, refugee chefs serve the foods they miss most from home.

Aerial image of Vietnam, displaying the picturesque rice terraces, characterized by their layered, verdant fields.
Atlas Obscura Membership

Become an Atlas Obscura Member


Join our community of curious explorers.

Become a Member

Get Our Email Newsletter

Follow Us

Facebook YouTube TikTok Instagram Pinterest RSS Feed

Get the app

Download the App
Download on the Apple App Store Get it on Google Play
  • All Places
  • Latest Places
  • Most Popular
  • Places to Eat
  • Random
  • Nearby
  • Add a Place
  • Stories
  • Food & Drink
  • Itineraries
  • Lists
  • Video
  • Podcast
  • Newsletters
  • All Trips
  • History & Culture
  • Wildlife & Nature
  • FAQ
  • Membership
  • Feedback & Ideas
  • Community Guidelines
  • Product Blog
  • Unique Gifts
  • Work With Us
  • About
  • FAQ
  • Advertise With Us
  • Advertising Guidelines
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms of Use
Atlas Obscura

© 2025 Atlas Obscura. All Rights Reserved.