print
date: label: date made
content: Around 2015
notes: label: Description
content: The print is a copy of a pastel painting, entitled "Tomasito," done by Sister Norma Pimentel (Sr. Norma) and given to Pope Francis in 2015. It depicts a Honduran mother and her son Tomas, who were migrants served by the Humanitarian Respite Center in McAllen, Texas, after their journey to the United States. Sr. Norma took a photograph capturing their expressions of weariness from their trip while they were eating at the center, and she based the painting on that photograph. Another copy of the picture, along with a photograph of Sr. Norma with Pope Francis, hangs over Sr. Norma’s desk in her office at Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley in San Juan, Texas.
label: Description
content: The Humanitarian Respite Center was founded in 2014 by Sister Norma (Sr. Norma) Pimentel, executive director of the Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley, the charitable arm of the Diocese of Brownsville. Out of a belief in supporting the dignity of vulnerable people, Sr. Norma established the center at a time when a surge of Central American migrants caused a humanitarian crisis and great political controversy in the United States. The center shelters and cares for migrants for a day after their release by the Border Patrol before they travel to the homes of sponsors, typically family or friends, as part of their immigration process. Among the center’s supporters are members of the predominantly Mexican-American local community who donate clothing, toys, and other necessary supplies to help the newcomers. Between 2014 and 2021, the center assisted over 100,000 refugees.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
setName: label: See more items in
content: Work and Industry: Philanthropy
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: 2021.0012.02
label: accession number
content: 2021.0012
label: catalog number
content: 2021.0012.02
objectType: label: Object Name
content: print
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: printed canvas (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 69 cm x 55 cm x .02 cm; 27 5/32 in x 21 21/32 in x in