News

Fr Greg Boyle to give Public Lecture

Fr. Greg Boyle SJ, the founder of Homeboy Industries, the largest gang prevention organisation in the United States, will be speaking at St. Aloysius’ College at 7pm on Tuesday 8 September as part of the lecture series for the College’s Centre for Social and Environmental Justice. On Tuesday 8 September, Fr. Boyle will be speak to students of St. Aloysius’ College at their morning assembly before delivering his much anticipated public lecture in the College Hall at 7pm.

His engaging and often humorous style makes him a much sought after speaker whose extraordinary commitment and insights have helped many young men and women reclaim their lives and their dignity.

All members of the Aloysian Community and the general public are invited to come along to enjoy this inspiring lecture at 7pm on Tuesday 8 September in the College Hall.

Admission to the lecture is free.

Fr Greg Boyle SJ.

In the 1980s Fr. Boyle became pastor of Dolores Mission in Los Angeles. The neighbourhood had the largest concentration of gangs, not only in the city but in the country. It was in this context that he began the task of trying to help the parish and the young men and women caught up in the area’s pattern of violence to make a new beginning. Eventually, it led to the creation of Homeboy Industries as a means of helping to provide jobs and training for former gang members. Their work includes providing tattoo removal, mental health and substance abuse services, and training in areas such as silk screening and the catering industry. Homeboy’s presence can be felt around the city of Los Angeles with a diner at the LA City Hall and a café at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). Each year over 10,000 former gang members from across Los Angeles come through Homeboy Industries’ doors. 2014 saw the establishment of the Global Homeboy Network which seeks to build partnerships with peer organisation as a means of sharing strategies and best practice as an ‘exit ramp’ for those stuck in a cycle of violence and incarceration.

Fr Greg Boyle is the author of the bestselling book Tattoos on the Heart: The Power of Boundless Compassion