Alberto Hurtado (; born Luis Alberto Hurtado Cruchaga on January 22, 1901 in
Viña del Mar,
Chile
Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...
– August 18, 1952 in
Santiago
Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, whos ...
, Chile), popularly known in
Chile
Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...
as Padre Hurtado (Spanish for "Father Hurtado"), was a
Chile
Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...
an
Jesuit priest
A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in partic ...
, lawyer, social worker, and writer, of
Basque
Basque may refer to:
* Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France
* Basque language, their language
Places
* Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France
* Basque Country (autonomous co ...
ancestry. He founded the
Hogar de Cristo
Hogar de Cristo ("Home of Christ", in English; pronounced /o.'ɣaɾ.ðe.'kɾis.to/ in Spanish) is a Chilean public charity created by Saint Alberto Hurtado, a Jesuit priest, on October 19, 1944. He was declared as saint by the Pope Benedict XVI ...
foundation in 1944. He was canonized on October 23, 2005, by
Pope Benedict XVI
Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the soverei ...
, becoming his country's second saint.
Early life and education
Alberto Hurtado was born in Viña del Mar, Chile, on January 22, 1901, to an aristocratic family. After the death of his father when Alberto was four years old, his mother, with just two small sons, decided to sell their large estate. Unfortunately the buyer defrauded her. The family, now impoverished, was forced to live with a succession of relatives.
From an early age, Hurtado experienced what it meant to be poor and without a home. Thanks to a scholarship, he was able to attend the prestigious, all-boys, Jesuit school of St. Ignacio,
Santiago, Chile (1909–17). During this time, he volunteered at the
Parroquia Nuestra Señora de Andacollo, Santiago, a Catholic parish and school in a poor neighborhood of Santiago, where he assisted in the office and was librarian. From 1918 to 1923, he attended the
Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile
The Pontifical Catholic University of Chile (''PUC or UC Chile'') ( es, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile) is one of the six Catholic Universities existing in the Chilean university system and one of the two pontifical universities i ...
, studying in its law school and writing his thesis on
labour law. After interrupting his studies for obligatory military service, he earned his degree in August 1923.
Hurtado entered the Jesuit
novitiate in 1923. In 1925 he went to
Córdoba, Argentina, where he studied
humanities
Humanities are academic disciplines that study aspects of human society and culture. In the Renaissance, the term contrasted with divinity and referred to what is now called classics, the main area of secular study in universities at the t ...
. In 1927 he was sent to
Barcelona
Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
, Spain, to study philosophy and theology. When the Jesuits were suppressed in Spain in 1931, he continued his studies in theology at Louvain, Belgium. He was ordained a priest there on August 24,1933, and in 1935 he obtained a doctorate in
pedagogy
Pedagogy (), most commonly understood as the approach to teaching, is the theory and practice of learning, and how this process influences, and is influenced by, the social, political and psychological development of learners. Pedagogy, taken ...
and psychology.
[
]
Educator
Before returning to Chile
Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...
, Hurtado visited social and educational centers in Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
, France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
, Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
, and the Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
. He returned to Chile in January 1936 and took up his post as professor of religion at Colegio San Ignacio and of Pedagogy at the Catholic University of Santiago. He was entrusted with the Sodality of Our Lady for the students, and he involved them in teaching catechism to the poor.[
Conservative Catholics in Chile had difficulty accepting the church's social teachings. As late as 1931, the official organ of the party aligned with the church hierarchy refused to publish the papal encyclical '' Quadragesimo anno'' and considered it "an orientation directed to other parts of the world but not Chile."
In 1936, Hurtado authored an article entitled ''The Priesthood Crisis In Chile'', which addressed the problem of the shortage of priests in Chile; his analysis was criticized as "exaggerated".][Gertrude M. Yeager. In the Absence of Priests: Young Women as Apostles to the Poor, Chile 1922–1932. The Americas, Vol. 64, No. 2 (October 2007), pp. 207–242] He criticized the quality of catechism instruction offered in Chile and wrote that young men often signed up as catechists but lacked the necessary certificate.
Social apostolate
In 1940, Hurtado was appointed diocesan director of the Catholic Action
Catholic Action is the name of groups of lay Catholics who advocate for increased Catholic influence on society. They were especially active in the nineteenth century in historically Catholic countries under anti-clerical regimes such as Spain, I ...
youth movement and he served as its national director from 1941 to 1944. Also in 1941, Hurtado authored ''Is Chile a Catholic Country?'' The book published statistics demonstrating a lack of priests assigned to the working class and rural populations, and it reported on parishes that had one priest assigned to 10,000 laypeople spread across huge geographic areas. He advocated an increase in the number of priests and better education for them. Almost half of Chile's clergy were foreigners, including missionaries from the United States and Canada, who rode circuits of towns to administer the sacraments. Most Chileans regarded devotion to the Virgin and the saints as more important than attending Mass or receiving the Eucharist, which they could not do regularly.
In the book, Hurtado published the results of a 1939 survey of Chilean religious practices and reported that only 9% of Chilean women and 3.5% of Chilean men regularly attended Mass. The book was heavily criticised by more conservative Catholics, who accused Hurtado of being a Communist.
Keeping in mind his own origins, and ever grateful for the help he and his family had received when they were in great difficulties, Hurtado was led to active social involvement. His strong faith was transformed into action with his founding of an organization similar to Boys Town in the United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
. His shelters, called ''Hogar de Cristo'' (Home of Christ), took in all children in need of food and shelter, abandoned or not. He also purchased a 1946 green pickup truck and monitored the streets at night to help those in need that he could reach. His own charisma brought him many collaborators and benefactors. The movement was a huge success. The shelters multiplied throughout Chile and it is estimated that between 1945 and 1951 more than 850,000 children received some help from the movement.[
]
Labor movement and social doctrine of the church
In 1947, Hurtado entered the labor movement. Inspired by the social teaching of the church he founded the Chilean Trade Union Association, meant to train leaders
Leadership, both as a research area and as a practical skill, encompasses the ability of an individual, group or organization to "lead", influence or guide other individuals, teams, or entire organizations. The word "leadership" often gets view ...
and instill Christian values Christian values historically refers to values derived from the teachings of Jesus Christ. The term has various applications and meanings, and specific definitions can vary widely between denominations, geographical locations and different schools ...
in the labor unions. He wrote three books: ''Social Humanism'' (1947), ''The Christian Social Order'' (1947) and ''Trade Unions'' (1950). He served as a confessor to the Falange Nacional
Falangism in Latin America has been a feature of political life since the 1930s as movements looked to the national syndicalist clerical fascism of the Spanish state and sought to apply it to other Spanish-speaking countries. From the mid-1930s, t ...
, the precursor to the modern Christian Democratic Party. To disseminate the social teaching of the church and help Christians reflect and act on the serious social problems faced by Chile, he founded in 1951 the periodical ''Mensaje'' ("Message"). He published numerous articles and books on labor issues in relation to the Catholic faith
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
.[
]
Death
Deeply spiritual, Hurtado was untiring in his work for the workers and the youth, combining intellectual reflection and practical actions. Ever optimistic and joyful, he had also an attractive personality that brought many people to Christ and the Catholic Church, young and old, intellectuals and manual workers.[
In 1952, Hurtado was stricken with intense pain and rushed to the hospital. He was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Day after day the media kept the country informed of Hurtado's state of health. Before his death he had become a national hero. After a brief battle with the illness, he died in ]Santiago
Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, whos ...
.
Veneration
Hurtado was beatified
Beatification (from Latin ''beatus'', "blessed" and ''facere'', "to make”) is a recognition accorded by the Catholic Church of a deceased person's entrance into Heaven and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in their nam ...
on October 16, 1994, by Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...
and canonized
Canonization is the declaration of a deceased person as an officially recognized saint, specifically, the official act of a Christian communion declaring a person worthy of public veneration and entering their name in the canon catalogue of s ...
by Pope Benedict XVI
Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the soverei ...
on October 23, 2005.[ Hurtado was one of the first people to be elevated to sainthood during the papacy of Pope Benedict XVI; he was also the second Chilean saint, after Teresa of Los Andes.
Hurtado is one of the most popular and cherished saints in his country, ]Chile
Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...
. An indication of his lasting popularity was the presence in Saint Peter's Square, on the day of Hurtado's canonization, of a very large contingent of Chilean people, led by the highest authorities of the country, starting with President Ricardo Lagos
Ricardo Froilán Lagos Escobar (; born 2 March 1938) is a Chilean lawyer, economist and social-democratic politician who served as president of Chile from 2000 to 2006. During the 1980s he was a well-known opponent of the Chilean military dic ...
and some high-ranking Chilean politicians who actually had been Hurtado's students during his school teacher time, like Senator Gabriel Valdés.
Legacy
* The "Hogar de Cristo" he founded still exists, and through its fight for social justice, it has become one of the biggest charity groups in Chile.
* There is also an avenue and the San Alberto Hurtado metro station
San Alberto Hurtado, formerly known as Pila del Ganso, is a station on the Santiago Metro in Santiago, Chile. It is an underground station located between the stations Ecuador and Universidad de Santiago on the same line, below the Avenida Liber ...
in Santiago
Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, whos ...
(the closest to his main shrine, which also houses the Hogar's headquarters) named after him.
* Alberto Hurtado University, located in Santiago and run by the Society of Jesus
, image = Ihs-logo.svg
, image_size = 175px
, caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits
, abbreviation = SJ
, nickname = Jesuits
, formation =
, founders ...
, preserves his name and strives to bring his legacy into contemporary education and social affairs, facilitating activities through its Center for Reflection and Social Action (CREAS).
* St. Joseph's Preparatory School in Philadelphia, PA, establishe
The Hurtado Food Pantry
where a team of high school students organizes monthly food collections and deliveries, sending out thousands of pounds of food to the community.
* Xavier High School
A multitude of schools and universities have been named after St. Francis Xavier, a Spanish Roman Catholic saint and co-founder of the Society of Jesus. This page lists notable educational institutions named after St. Xavier, arranged by country a ...
in New York, New York, renamed a hall (in which a soup kitchen feeds over 900 meals every Sunday) and Seattle University has a Residential Learning Community named after him.
* Jesuit High School in Portland, Oregon, opens its empty classrooms in the evenings to an ESL program called The Hurtado Center.
* Belen Jesuit High School
Belen Jesuit Preparatory School is a private, Catholic, all-male, preparatory school run by the Antilles Province of the Society of Jesus in Tamiami, Page 1anPage 2/ref> unincorporated Miami-Dade County, Florida, operated by the Society of Je ...
has started the Hurtado Experience for its ninth graders, taking them on retreats to help out the needy in Miami.
* The famous Jesuit boarding school Clongowes Wood College
Clongowes Wood College SJ is a voluntary boarding school for boys near Clane, County Kildare, Ireland, founded by the Jesuits in 1814, which features prominently in James Joyce's semi-autobiographical novel ''A Portrait of the Artist as a Yo ...
, Co. Kildare. Ireland, named their Bursary Programme after him in 2007. Ten percent (10%) of the student population are educated free in the interest of the school being socially just. This is not a scholarship but a bursary for students who would benefit most from a Clongowes education in the Jesuit tradition. Currently six years in Clongowes would cost €100800.00 ( 2011/2012 figures €16800 per annum ).
* Chilean historian Marciano Barrios Valdes considered the Catholic Action movement in Chile to be what sustained the Catholic Church's continued existence in Chile into the 1960s.
* The Jesuit run Rockhurst High School
Rockhurst High School is a private, Roman Catholic, Jesuit, all-boys, preparatory school founded in 1910 along with Rockhurst College, in Kansas City, Missouri, United States. It moved away from the College in 1962 to a campus on State Line Road ...
l in Kansas City, Missouri, runs an accelerated learning program for inner-city, Catholic, middle school boys named "The Hurtado Scholars Program".
* Since 2006 the Press Club of Chile has presented the annual Alberto Hurtado Cruchaga Award ( es, Premio Alberto Hurtado Cruchaga) to people and institutions for service to the community in the field of journalism.
* Jesuit High School of Tampa Bay has a scholarship named after him for those students who serve in their community.
*He is patron of the Novitiate of the USA Midwest province of the Society of Jesus.
Criticism
Members of the Conservative Party
The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right.
Political parties called The Conservative P ...
denounced what they saw as Hurtado's endorsement of the National Falange, a party founded after young social Catholics split from the conservative party. There were also attacks from the left. An anonymous article published in ''Policarpo'' in 1982 called Hurtado "the last prophet of the bourgeoisie" while it contrasts him unfavorably with the figure of Enrique Alvear who is hailed as the "first Pastor of the Church of the poor in Chile". Clotario Blest
Clotario Leopoldo Blest Riffo (; 17 November 1899 – 31 May 1990) was a Chilean social activist and labor union leader. Blest was one of the founders of Agrupación Nacional de Empleados Fiscales (ANEF), Central Única de Trabajadores (CUT), R ...
, who like Hurtado was also intellectually indebted to Fernando Vives, is reported to have distanced himself from Hurtado.
Media
During the 1990s there was a short TV series dedicated to him, named ''Crónica de un Hombre Santo'' (English: ''Chronicles of a Holy Man''). Four actors portrayed Hurtado, from his childhood to his last years; popular telenovela
A telenovela is a type of a television serial drama or soap opera produced primarily in Latin America. The word combines ''tele'' (for "television") and ''novela'' (meaning "novel"). Similar drama genres around the world include '' teleserye'' ...
actor Cristián Campos played the adult Hurtado during his ministry.
Hurtado remains very popular in Chile to this day. His Facebook fan page has more than 50,000 followers.[
]
Main works
* ''¿Es Chile un pais católico?'' (English: ''Is Chile a Catholic country?''), Santiago (Chile), 1941.
* ''Humanismo social'' (English: ''Social humanism''), Santiago (Chile), 1947.
* ''El orden social cristiano en los documentos de la jerarquía católica'' (English: ''Christian social order in the documents of the Catholic hierarchy''), 2 vol., Santiago (Chile), 1947.
* ''Sindicalismo: historia-teoría-práctica'' (English: ''Syndicalism: History-Theory-Practice''), Santiago (Chile), 1950.
See also
*Bartolome Blanco Marquez Bartolome is a Tagalog surname and may refer to:
* Donnalyn Bartolome (1994), Filipina internet personality, vlogger, singer, songwriter and rapper
* Heber Bartolome (1948–2021), Filipino folk and rock singer, songwriter, composer, poet, guitaris ...
, Youth leader of Catholic Action and martyr
A martyr (, ''mártys'', "witness", or , ''marturia'', stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an externa ...
of the Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, link ...
*Alberto Marvelli
Alberto Marvelli (21 March 1918 – 5 October 1946) was an Italian Catholic and a member of the Catholic Action movement. He became noted for his defense of the poor and for selflessness during World War II in tending to the homeless and wounded ...
* Saint Alberto Hurtado, patron saint archive
*San Alberto Hurtado metro station
San Alberto Hurtado, formerly known as Pila del Ganso, is a station on the Santiago Metro in Santiago, Chile. It is an underground station located between the stations Ecuador and Universidad de Santiago on the same line, below the Avenida Liber ...
*Frederic Ozanam Frederic may refer to:
Places United States
* Frederic, Wisconsin, a village in Polk County
* Frederic Township, Michigan, a township in Crawford County
** Frederic, Michigan, an unincorporated community
Other uses
* Frederic (band), a Japanese r ...
* Alberto Hurtado University
References
Bibliography
* CID, F.D.: ''El humanismo de Alberto Hurtado S.J.'', Santiago (Chile), 1975.
* LAVIN, A.: ''El P.Hurtado, amigo y apostol de los jovanes'', Santiago (Chile), 1978.
* GILFEATHER, Katherine A.: ''Alberto Hurtado, a man after God's Heart'', Santiago (Chile), 2004.
External links
"Padre Hurtado" Documentation and Studies Center
(Spanish)
(English)
Fundación Padre Hurtado
(Spanish)
Hogar de Cristo
(English)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hurtado Cruchaga, Alberto
Chilean Roman Catholic saints
20th-century Chilean Jesuits
Jesuit saints
Chilean people of Basque descent
Catholic University of Leuven (1834–1968) alumni
Pontifical Catholic University of Chile alumni
Chilean trade unionists
1901 births
1952 deaths
People from Viña del Mar
Burials in Chile
20th-century Christian saints
Deaths from pancreatic cancer
Deaths from cancer in Chile
Conservative Party (Chile) politicians
Beatifications by Pope John Paul II
Canonizations by Pope Benedict XVI
Venerated Catholics by Pope John Paul II
Hurtado