Posted by The Seattle Uni on Thursday, April 4, 2019 at 9:52 AM PDT

We conclude this year’s Catholic Heritage Lectures with Greg Boyle, S.J., on Thursday, May 9 at 7 p.m. Fr. Greg is the founder of Homeboy Industries in Los Angeles, California, the largest gang intervention, rehabilitation, and re-entry program in the world. He comes to Seattle U to share riveting stories of what three decades of working with gang members in Los Angeles has taught him about faith, compassion and the enduring power of kinship.

In the face of unfavorable law enforcement tactics and criminal justice policies that encouraged suppression and mass incarceration, Fr. Greg sought a different approach to ending gang violence. He, alongside parish and community members, adopted what was a radical approach at the time: treating gang members as human beings.

In 1988, they started what would eventually become Homeboy Industries, an organization that employs and trains former gang members in a range of social enterprises to assist them in the transition back to a life without gang violence. At Homeboy Industries, thousands of young men and women seeking a better life walk through the door every year and are provided with critical services, resources and most importantly, hope.

Father Greg is the author of the 2010 New York Times-bestseller Tattoos on the Heart: The Power of Boundless Compassion. His 2017 book is the Los Angeles Times-bestseller Barking to the Choir: The Power of Radical Kinship.

Fr. Greg has received the California Peace Prize and has been inducted into the California Hall of Fame. In 2014, the White House named Father Boyle a Champion of Change. He received the University of Notre Dame’s 2017 Laetare Medal, the oldest honor given to American Catholics.

Tickets are going quickly for Fr. Boyle’s visit. Register now to save your seat.

Catholic Heritage Lectures
Spiritual Practice and Working on the Margins

Thursday, May 9 | 7 p.m.
Pigott Auditorium, Seattle University
Registration is required.

Fr. Boyle is also speaking at Our Lady of Guadalupe parish on Wednesday, May 8 at 7 p.m. Tickets are available here.