A Biography of Fr. Alberto

Alberto Hurtado Cruchaga was born in Viña del Mar, Chile, in January 1901, and lost his father at the age of four. His mother was forced to sell their modest property to pay the family debts. As a result, Hurtado and his brother lived with relatives and were often moved from one relatives’ house to another. A scholarship enabled him to attend the Jesuit High School in Santiago, Chile. It was there that he became a member of the Sodality of Our Lady and as such, took an active interest for the poor, visiting them in their most miserable places every Sunday afternoon.

After secondary studies in 1917, he desired to join the Jesuits, but was advised to postpone his plan in order to take care of his mother and younger brother. He worked in the afternoon and evening and was able to support his mother and brother, and at the same time attend school at the Law Faculty of the Catholic University. He continued to visit the poor on Sundays. To complete his bachelor's degree, he developed a paper on "Regulation of Child Labor." His Master's thesis was on "Work in the Home." His academic pursuits were indicators of his concern for the poor, a concern that would later define his ministry.

After completing obligatory military service, he completed his studies in August 1923. That same month he entered the Novitiate of the Society at Chillán. In April 1925 he was sent to Córdoba, in Argentina, to complete his noviceship. After two years of Novitiate and first vows, he stayed for two more years in Córdoba to complete his formation in the Humanities. In 1927 he was sent to Barcelona, Spain, for studies in philosophy and theology, but due to the suppression of the Jesuits in Spain in 1931, he had to go to Belgium to complete his four years of theology in Louvain. he was ordained a priest in August, 1933. He completed his theology studies and tertianship in Europe and then returned to Chile in 1936.

In Santiago, Fr. Hurtado taught religion at St. Ignatius High School and pedagogy in the Catholic University. He directed the Sodality of Our Lady for the students and got them involved in catechesis for the poor. In directing the Spiritual Exercises for young people, he accompanied many young men in their response to the priestly vocation. He fostered in laypeople a desire to live their Christianity coherently and to live a life of effective charity. In dealing with the rich, entrepreneurs and employers, Father Hurtado tried to form responsible Christians. In working with laborers hetirelessly promoted the idea that labor is authentically Christian, thus abolishing the division between Christian life and working life. "It is in his work that the worker is sanctified," he said.

In 1941 he was appointed Assistant for Catholic Action, first in the Archdiocese of Santiago, and later at the national level. In October 1944, while he was giving the Spiritual Exercises, Father Hurtado made an appeal to his retreatants to consider the many who are poor in the city. His appeal evoked a generous response and constituted the beginning of an initiative which made him especially famous: an inititative that would provide not only a home for the homeless but also a warm family environment of love. This program became known as the “Hogar de Cristo”, the “Hearth of Christ”.

Using contributions of benefactors and relying on the collaboration of committed lay people, Father Hurtado first opened a welcome house for young people, then for women, and later for children. The homes were conceived and directed so that they could grow quickly and adapt to the needs of their residents. In some instances they became rehabilitation centers. Others offered vocational training. All the houses were always inspired and permeated by Christian values. Fr. Hurtado said the purpose of the "Hogar de Cristo" is such that the persons who are received in them gradually develop “the knowledge of values which each one has as a person, of his dignity as a citizen, and more so, as a child of God”.

While carrying out these charitable social works, Fr. Hurtado also continued his intellectual formation. Between 1947 and 1950 he wrote three important works on labor unions, Christian humanism, and Christian social order. In 1951 he started the newsmagazine "Mensaje", devoted precisely to explaining the doctrine of the Church. Through this periodical and the articles published in it, he desired that a Catholic publication exercised influence in the world of thought and served to orient Catholics’ way of acting in contemporary reality, in conformity, as he himself wrote, “with the message that the Son of God has brought from heaven to earth.”

After a short bout with cancer of the pancreas, Fr. Hurtado died on August 18, 1952. Approaching death, his body wracked with pain, he could often be heard repeating, “I am content, Lord.” He was beatified by Pope John Paul II in October 16, 1994.