Famous as a pioneer in the Latin American Church’s activities in favor of the working poor, St. Alberto Hurtado Cruchaga directly experienced poverty as a young man when his mother was forced to sell the family farm after his father’s death. However, a scholarship allowed Hurtado to study at the Jesuit school in Santiago, Chile. He was ordained in 1933 and taught religion, trained teachers, led retreats, and worked in the poor areas of the city whenever he could. In 1941 he wrote “Is Chile a Catholic Country?” and became national chaplain to the youth movement called Catholic Action.
In 1944, Fr. Alberto started the work that would lead to El Hogar de Cristo, which shelters the homeless and tries to rescue abandoned children. “Hogar” means home, and the name signifies that people were welcomed into Christ’s home. The movement spread beyond Chile and throughout South America.
In 1947, Hurtado founded the Chilean Trade Union Association (ASICH) to promote a Christian labor-union movement. He wrote several works explaining the Church’s social teachings, on trade unions, social humanism and the Christian social order. He was canonized in 2005 and the novitiate in St. Paul is named for him.