PUBLISHER Daniel Kroger, OFM PRESIDENT Kelly McCracken EXECUTIVE EDITORS Christopher Heffron Susan Hines-Brigger FRANCISCAN EDITOR Pat McCloskey, OFM ART DIRECTOR Mary Catherine Kozusko MANAGING EDITOR Daniel Imwalle CONTRIBUTING EDITOR Sandy Howison EDITORIAL ASSISTANT Sharon Lape PRINTER EP Graphics ST. ANTHONY MESSENGER (ISSN #0036276X) (USPS PUBLICATION #007956) Volume 130, Number 2 Frequency: Published 10 times per year Member of the Catholic Media Association Published with ecclesiastical approval Copyright 2022. All rights reserved. WEBSITES: StAnthonyMessenger.org • FranciscanMedia.org FACEBOOK: Facebook.com/StAnthonyMessengerMagazine TWITTER: Twitter.com/StAnthonyMag PHONE: (866) 543-6870 (toll-free) (937) 281-2128 (outside of the US) YEARLY SUBSCRIPTION PRICES: $48 (US) • $78 (other countries) Single-issue price: $6.00 (US) For digital and bulk rates, visit our website. TO SUBSCRIBE OR FOR US POSTMASTER ADDRESS CHANGES: St. Anthony Messenger PO Box 292309 Kettering, OH 45429-0309 MAILING LIST RENTAL: If you prefer that your name and address not be shared with select organizations, send your current mailing label to the address above.
PHOTO CREDIT HERE
THIS PAGE: ALL PHOTOS COURTESY OF SUBJECT UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED; DEACON ART MILLER: SESHU PHOTOGRAPHY; OPPOSITE PAGE: COURTESY OF HOMEBOY INDUSTRIES
DEAR READER by Susan Hines-Brigger
A UNIQUE MINISTRY ONE OF THE PIVOTAL MOMENTS in St. Francis’ life occurred when he embraced a leper, someone who had been seen by most people as an outcast in society. Even Francis—at that point in his life—had felt the same way. With that embrace, however, he began to see the person rather than the disease. Too often, society turns its back on those whom it has deemed unworthy by some arbitrary rule. Thankfully, though, there are people like Father Greg Boyle, SJ, who has embraced those on the margins in East Los Angeles and helped bring them hope (see page 32 to read the article by Maria Luis Torres). For Father Greg, that means helping gang members to step away from that life and into a brighter future. His Homeboy Industries program began in 1988 after he was named pastor of Dolores Mission Church. Not only was this the poorest Catholic parish in Los Angeles, but the surrounding area also had the highest concentration of gang activity. Father Greg began working to address the problem. The program he began has now grown into the largest gang intervention, rehabilitation, and reentry program in the world, welcoming thousands through its doors each year. And it is all because Father Greg took a situation that others saw as hopeless and viewed it as an opportunity. He, much like St. Francis, decided to embrace those whom society had turned its back on. And it has made all the difference in the lives of many. May we all be inspired to seek out similar ways to help those in need.
Executive Editor
StAnthonyMessenger.org / August 2022 • 5
