RIDGEFIELD—Father Gregory Boyle, S.J., best-selling author and founder of Homeboy Industries in Los Angeles, the largest gang-intervention, rehabilitation, and re-entry program in the world, will be the keynote speaker at the 15th Anniversary Celebration of St. Mary’s Men’s Ministry on September 16 at 2 pm at 183 High Ridge Road in Ridgefield.
“The Men’s Ministry is celebrating by ‘gifting’ to the community a Father Boyle lecture,” said Joe Scharr, a member of the group that is sponsoring the talk. “The event is free of charge and all are invited to attend.”
Father Boyle’s work with those whom others have given up on has earned national attention and awards. Many know Father Boyle from his often-quoted words, “You stand with the least likely to succeed until success is succeeded by something more valuable: kinship. You stand with the belligerent, the surly and the badly behaved until bad behavior is recognized for the language it is: the vocabulary of the deeply wounded and of those whose burdens are more than they can bear… There is no ’them’ and ‘us.’ There is only us.”
Father Boyle is the author of the 2010 New York Times-bestseller Tattoos on the Heart: The Power of Boundless Compassion, followed by Barking to the Choir: The Power of Radical Kinship (2017) and The Whole Language: The Power of Extravagant Tenderness (2021). Most recently, he authored Forgive Everyone Everything, an anthology of writings accompanied by Fabian Debora’s artwork.
In 1988, Father Boyle started what would eventually become Homeboy Industries, which employs and trains former gang members and the formerly incarcerated in a range of social enterprises, as well as provides critical services to thousands of individuals who walk through its doors every year seeking a better life.
Father Boyle has received the California Peace Prize and been inducted into the California Hall of Fame. In 2014, President Barack Obama 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.
Homeboy Industries was the recipient of the 2020 Hilton Humanitarian Prize validating 32 years of Father Greg Boyle’s vision and work by the organization for over three decades.
A native of Los Angeles, Father Gregory Boyle attended Loyola High School and, upon graduating in 1972, entered the Society of Jesus . He holds a bachelor’s degree in philosophy and English from Gonzaga University in Spokane, Wash., a master’s degree in English from Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, a Master of Divinity (M.Div.) degree from the Weston School of Theology, Cambridge, Mass., and a Master of Sacred Theology degree from the Jesuit School of Theology, Berkeley, Calif. He was ordained a priest in 1984.
At the conclusion of his theology studies, Boyle spent a year living and working with Christian base communities in Cochabamba, Bolivia. Upon his return in 1986, he was appointed pastor of Dolores Mission Church, a Jesuit parish in the Boyle Heights neighborhood of East Los Angeles that was then the poorest Catholic church in the city.
St. Mary’s Men’s Ministry is designed to help parish men of all ages explore what it means to be a Catholic man in today’s world. Its primary mission is to help men enrich their relationships with Jesus Christ and apply their faith to their daily lives. Their weekly get together for coffee, bagels, fellowship, and stimulating discussions is held on Saturdays at 6:45 am.
Over 120 men are registered members of the ministry, which explores timeless lessons of scripture, faith, and morals, and how to apply them for the benefit of themselves, and their families, friends and co-workers. the Men’s Ministry nurtures a closer relationship with God, with our families, with our communities, and with each other. For more information visit the website at www.stmmm.org
Father Boyle’s talk is open to all. It will be held in the Nancy Bossidy Rec Center at 183 High Ridge Road. For more information, email jscharr@sbcglobal.net.
