Alberto Hurtado (; born Luis Alberto Hurtado Cruchaga on January 22, 1901 in

Viña del Mar Viña del Mar (; meaning "Vineyard of the Sea") is a List of cities in Chile, city and Communes of Chile, commune on Zona Central, Chile, central Chile's Pacific coast. Often referred to as ("The Garden City"), Viña del Mar is located within ...

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 eas ...

– 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

as Padre Hurtado (Spanish for "Father Hurtado"), was a

Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

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 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 XV ...

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 sovereig ...

, 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 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, whose ...

(1909–17). During this time, he volunteered at the

Parroquia Nuestra Señora de Andacollo, Santiago Parroquia Nuestra Señora de Andacollo, Santiago is Catholic parish in Santiago, Chile dedicated to Our Lady of Andacollo. The parish shares the same city block with Colegio de Nuestra Señora de Andacollo, a school administered, like the paris ...

, 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 Labour laws (also known as labor laws or employment laws) are those that mediate the relationship between workers, employing entities, trade unions, and the government. Collective labour law relates to the tripartite relationship between employee, ...

. After interrupting his studies for obligatory military service, he earned his degree in August 1923. Hurtado entered the Jesuit

novitiate The novitiate, also called the noviciate, is the period of training and preparation that a Christian ''novice'' (or ''prospective'') monastic, apostolic, or member of a religious order undergoes prior to taking vows in order to discern whether ...

in 1923. In 1925 he went to

Córdoba, Argentina Córdoba () is a city in central Argentina, in the foothills of the Sierras Chicas on the Suquía River, about northwest of Buenos Aires. It is the capital of Córdoba Province and the second most populous city in Argentina after Buenos ...

, 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 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 c ...

, 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

, 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 betwee ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

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 ...

, 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, It ...

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 Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

. 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 The labour movement or labor movement consists of two main wings: the trade union movement (British English) or labor union movement (American English) on the one hand, and the political labour movement on the other. * The trade union 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 union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits (s ...

s. 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 Pancreatic cancer arises when cells in the pancreas, a glandular organ behind the stomach, begin to multiply out of control and form a mass. These cancerous cells have the ability to invade other parts of the body. A number of types of pancr ...

. 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

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 n ...

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 ...

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,

. An indication of his lasting popularity was the presence in

Saint Peter's Square Saint Peter's Square ( la, Forum Sancti Petri, it, Piazza San Pietro ,) is a large plaza located directly in front of St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City, the papal enclave inside Rome, directly west of the neighborhood ( rione) of Borgo. ...

, 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 in

(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 St. Joseph's Preparatory School, known as "St. Joseph's Prep" or simply "The Prep", is an urban, private, Catholic, college preparatory school run by the Jesuits in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. It was founded in 1851. Curriculm The ...

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 in New York, New York, renamed a hall (in which a soup kitchen feeds over 900 meals every Sunday) and

Seattle University Seattle University (SeattleU) is a private Jesuit university in Seattle, Washington. Seattle University is the largest independent university in the Northwestern United States, with over 7,500 students enrolled in undergraduate and graduate pro ...

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 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 ...

, 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 Schooll 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 The National Falange ( es, Falange Nacional, FN) was a Chilean Christian political party that existed between 1935 and 1957. It was the basis of the Christian Democratic Party (PDC); still it is customary to use the expressions "Falange" and "Fala ...

, 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), Re ...

, who like Hurtado was also intellectually indebted to

Fernando Vives Fernando Vives Solar (1871–1935) was a Chilean Jesuit known as one of the foremost advocates of the Catholic social teachings in Chile. Vives influenced a generation of young men including Alberto Hurtado, Clotario Blest and future historian Jai ...

, 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.

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 Hurtado is a Spanish surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Alberto Hurtado (1901–1952), Chilean Jesuit priest, lawyer, social worker and writer *Álvaro Gómez Hurtado (1919–1995), Colombian lawyer, politician, and journalist * A ...