Saint Alberto Hurtado

Life story

Alberto Hurtado Cruchaga was born on 22 January 1901 at Viña del Mar, Chile. His father died when he was four, and the family suffered hardship; his mother had to rent out or sell property. He gained a scholarship to a Jesuit school in Santiago and then studied law at the Catholic University of Chile.

In 1923 he entered the Jesuits. He studied philosophy in Argentina and Spain, and then theology and education at Leuven in Belgium, where he was ordained a priest in 1933. Back in Chile in 1936 he taught, guided young people and served as chaplain to Catholic Action. His book Is Chile a Catholic Country?, published in 1941, provoked much debate.

In 1944 he founded Hogar de Cristo, which gave shelter and meals to children and adults living on the streets of Santiago; the organisation still operates today. He also promoted Catholic trade union activity and founded the magazine Mensaje to discuss social questions.

He fell ill with pancreatic cancer and died on 18 August 1952 in Santiago, aged 51. John Paul II beatified him in 1994, and Benedict XVI canonised him on 23 October 2005. He is the second saint of Chile after Teresa of the Andes. His feast is kept on 18 August, the day of his death. Hogar de Cristo is today among the largest charitable foundations in Chile, and a sanctuary in Santiago is dedicated to him.

Works and witness

• Studied law, joined the Jesuits in 1923, ordained in Belgium in 1933
• Wrote a 1941 book on Catholicism in Chile
• Founded Hogar de Cristo in 1944 for the homeless
• Founded the magazine Mensaje on social questions
• Beatified in 1994, canonised in 2005

Saints from the same country

Saint Teresa of the Andes

References

• Martyrologium Romanum
• Dicastery for the Causes of Saints – biographical profile
• Alberto Hurtado, ¿Es Chile un país católico?

Written by Anawim from documented history. Some details about ancient saints rest on tradition and are marked as such.