Last year Prayer Alert highlighted an application to draw attention to homelessness in London through a bronze sculpture. Huddled figures on park benches are a common sight in Westminster, but the plan to draw attention to homelessness with an evocative statue in the heart of the political establishment was met with a curt rebuff from the London borough. The sculpture depicts a figure shrouded in a blanket and stretched out on a bench. The only clues to the person’s identity are his feet, poking out and bearing visible wounds of crucifixion. Casts of the sculpture are displayed at the Vatican, in Dublin, Madrid, Washington and Toronto. Pope Francis blessed the artwork in 2013, saying it was a ‘beautiful and excellent representation of Jesus’. More than 850 people have backed a petition aimed at persuading the council to overturn its decision, while the Methodist Church is likely to appeal. Westminster has the highest population of homeless people in the UK.