Pope Francis to remain in Mexico indefinitely - sort of

A sculpture of Pope Francis will remain in the city of Juárez, Mexico.

Artist Pedro Francisco Rodriguez was commissioned to create a large sculpture of Pope Francis in honor of his visit to Juárez, Mexico on Wednesday.

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - Rodriguez has decided to use a nearly lost wax casting method to create Pope Francis' likeness in a project that can take 90 days to complete, even with the help of his eight-person team.

The base for the statue is modeling clay, but the final result will be bronze.

Part of the project includes boxes Rodriguez placed around Juárez. Anyone who wishes to donate may drop bronze items into the box, which will be melted down and cast into the final sculpture.

Rodriguez told NBC News that 2,000 pounds of bronze was necessary to cast the larger-than-life Pope, and that the donations are not expected to account for much, but it is the symbolic gesture that really matters.

"We want to involve the people of Juárez and let them be part of it," he explained.

"...the transcendence of this piece makes me look for what will transmit something to the people. Happiness, hope, love, kindness...that it's capable of reflecting something to the people," he described.

"First, after budget approval, I researched [Pope Francis'] biography, his story, his photographs, the internet, books to understand his character, his height, the Pope's proportions, his age, the details of his clothing.

For example, I found out he has 33 buttons in his clothing, because that's the age when Jesus died. And that's a very important detail for the sculpture. I try to express the most glorious aspect of his personality. In this case, the Pope is a happy man, a man who transmits kindness. 

"A man who brings hope and happiness to a lot of people. So the I took the idea, since he likes to release a lot of doves. I think it was an expression that gave dynamism to the sculpture instead of making it static.. It makes it a little more alive, organic. It transmits to the city some happiness."

Rodriguez has sculpted before, but he admitted "The significance of this [project] is much more important. He is the most important religious leader in the world."

He then concluded that he hoped the statue's presence would spread kindness through Juárez.

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