Bl. Albert Hurtado Cruchaga, Priest

Bl. Albert Hurtado Cruchaga is esteemed throughout his native Chile as the founder of El Hogar de Cristo, shelters that offer, in the name of Christ, assistance to the homeless and the poor. Albert was born in Viña del Mar on January 22, 1901, and he knew poverty from his youth. It was only because of a scholarship that he was able to attend the Jesuit High School in Santiago. During those early years of study, he regularly spent his Sunday afternoons in the city’s slum district, helping the poor in any way he could. Upon graduation, he thought of becoming a Jesuit, but his mother and brother needed his assistance, so he found afternoon and evening employment while reserving the mornings to study law at Santiago’s Catholic University. Busy as he was, he still spent his Sunday afternoons with the poor. This he would not give up. Then, in 1923, with his law degree in hand, he entered the Jesuit novitiate. In 1927, he was sent to Spain for his philosophical studies, and he completed his theological course at Louvain, where he was ordained (1933).

He returned to Chile in 1936. While teaching pedagogy at the Catholic University, he involved his sodality students in various apostolic endeavors; for example, working with the poor, visiting the sick, and teaching catechism to children. The poor were continually on Fr. Hurtado’s mind, especially the homeless. With help from benefactors, he opened his first shelter, which he named El Hogar de Cristo, where he welcomed them as into Christ’s home. In time, there were shelters for men, boys, and then for women and girls. While offering assistance, Fr. Hurtado rehabilitated the adults, trained the young in various skills, and instilled Christian values in all. Similar residences were opened in other Chilean cities, and from there they passed to other South American countries. Ever eager to teach and explain the Church’s social teaching to the working laity, Fr. Hurtado wrote several books and started the periodical Mensaje (Message). In 1951, his health began to fail, and he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. He died in Santiago on August 18, 1952, and was beatified by Pope John Paul II in 1994.