Gregory Joseph Boyle (born May 19, 1954) is an American

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

priest of the

Jesuit The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

order. He is the founder and director of Homeboy Industries, the world's largest gang intervention and rehabilitation program, and former pastor of Dolores Mission Church in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

Early life and education

Boyle was born in

, and is one of eight siblings born to Kathleen and Bernie Boyle. He attended Loyola High School and, upon graduating in 1972, entered the

Society of Jesus The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rome. It was founded in 1540 ...

(the Jesuits). Boyle was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...

a priest in 1984. He holds a bachelor's degree in philosophy and English from

Gonzaga University Gonzaga University (GU) ( ) is a Private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit university in Spokane, Washington, United States. It is Higher education accreditation in the United States, accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges ...

Spokane, Washington Spokane ( ) is the most populous city in eastern Washington and the county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It lies along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south o ...

, a master's degree in English from

Loyola Marymount University Loyola Marymount University (LMU) is a private Jesuit and Marymount research university in Los Angeles, California. LMU enrolls over 10,000 undergraduate and graduate students, making it the largest Catholic university on the west coast of the ...

in Los Angeles, a Master of Divinity (M.Div.) degree from the Weston School of Theology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, and a Master of Sacred Theology degree from the Jesuit School of Theology, Berkeley, California.

Early career

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. At the time, the church sat between two large

public housing Public housing, also known as social housing, refers to Subsidized housing, subsidized or affordable housing provided in buildings that are usually owned and managed by local government, central government, nonprofit organizations or a ...

projects and amid the territories of eight gangs. Referred to as the "decade of death" in Los Angeles between 1988-1998, there were close to a thousand people per year killed in Los Angeles from gang related crime.

Homeboy Industries

By 1988, in an effort to address the escalating problems and unmet needs of

gang A gang is a social group, group or secret society, society of associates, friends, or members of a family with a defined leadership and internal organization that identifies with or claims control over Wiktionary:territory#Noun, territory in a ...

-involved youth, Boyle, alongside parish and community members, began to develop positive opportunities for them, including establishing an alternative school and a

day care Child care, also known as day care, is the care and supervision of one or more children, typically ranging from three months to 18 years old. Although most parents spend a significant amount of time caring for their child(ren), childcare typica ...

program, and seeking out legitimate employment, calling this initial effort Jobs for a Future. In the wake of the

1992 Los Angeles riots The 1992 Los Angeles riots were a series of riots and civil disturbances that occurred in Los Angeles County, California, United States, during April and May 1992. Unrest began in South Los Angeles, South Central Los Angeles on April 29, after ...

, Jobs for a Future and Proyecto Pastoral, a

community organizing Community organizing is a process where people who live in proximity to each other or share some common problem come together into an organization that acts in their shared self-interest. Unlike those who promote more-consensual community buil ...

project begun at the parish, launched their first social enterprise business, Homeboy Bakery. Initial funding for the bakery was donated by the late film producer

Ray Stark Raymond Otto Stark (October 3, 1915 – January 17, 2004) was an American film producer and talent agent. Stark's background as a literary and theatrical agent prepared him to produce some of the most profitable films of the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, ...

. In the ensuing years, the success of the bakery created the groundwork for additional

social enterprise A social enterprise is an organization that applies commercial strategies to maximize improvements in financial, social and environmental well-being. This may include maximizing social impact alongside profits for co-owners. Social enterprises ha ...

businesses, leading Jobs for a Future to become an independent nonprofit organization, Homeboy Industries. Homeboy Industries is the largest and most successful gang rehabilitation and re-entry program in the world. Homeboy offers an "exit ramp" for those stuck in a cycle of violence and incarceration. The organization's holistic approach, with free services and programs, supports around 10,000 men and women a year as they work to overcome their pasts, re-imagine their futures, and break the inter-generational cycles of gang violence. Therapeutic and educational offerings (e.g., case management, counseling, and classes), practical services (e.g.,

tattoo removal Tattoo removal is a procedure to eliminate or significantly lighten a tattoo from the skin. People pursue removal for many reasons, including changes in personal taste, social or professional considerations, or a desire to relocate a tattoo. Mo ...

, work readiness, and legal assistance), and job training-focused business (e.g., Homeboy Bakery, Homegirl Café, and Homeboy Silkscreen & Embroidery) provide healing alternatives to gang life while creating safer and healthier communities.

Board membership

Boyle serves as a member of the National Gang Center Advisory Board. He is also a member of the advisory board for the

Loyola Law School Loyola Law School is the law school of Loyola Marymount University, a private Jesuit university in Los Angeles, California. Loyola was established in 1920. Academics Degrees offered include the Juris Doctor (JD); Master of Science in Legal ...

Center for Juvenile Law and Policy in Los Angeles.

Published works

* ''Father Greg & the Homeboys: The Extraordinary Journey of Father Greg Boyle and His Work With the Latino Gangs of East L.A''., 1995, Hyperion Books, 978-0786860890 * ''Tattoos on the Heart: The Power of Boundless Compassion'', 2010, Free Press, 978-1439153024 * ''Barking to the Choir: The Power of Radical Kinship'', 2017, Simon & Schuster, 978-1476726151 * ''Creating a Culture of Tenderness: Embracing Our Kinship with All of Life'', 2019, Sounds True Inc, 978-1683643326 * ''The Whole Language: The Power of Extravagant Tenderness'', 2021, Avid Reader Press / Simon & Schuster, 978-1982128326 * ''Forgive Everyone Everything'', 2022, Loyola Press, 978-0829450248

Awards

Boyle has received the Civic Medal of Honor from the

Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce The Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce is Southern California's largest not-for-profit business federation, representing the interests of more than 235,000 businesses in L.A. County, more than 1,400 member companies and more than 722,430 emplo ...

, the California Peace Prize granted by the California Wellness Foundation, the Lifetime Achievement Award from MALDEF, and the James Irvine Foundation’s Leadership Award. Boyle was named the 2007 Humanitarian of the Year by '' Bon Appetit'' magazine. Boyle was inducted into the

California Hall of Fame The California Hall of Fame is an institution created in 2006 by Maria Shriver to honor important Californians. The award was designed by Californian artists Robert Graham (sculptor), Robert Graham. The hall is located in The California Museum i ...

in December 2011. In 2014, Boyle was awarded the honorary Doctor of Humane Letters (L.H.D.) from

Whittier College Whittier College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Whittier, California. It is a Hispanic-serving institution, Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) and, as of spring 2024, had 815 ...

. He was named the 2016 Humanitarian of the Year by the

James Beard Foundation The James Beard Foundation is an American non-profit culinary arts organization based in New York City. It was named after James Beard, a food writer, teacher, and cookbook author. Its programs include guest-chef dinners to scholarships for asp ...

, a national culinary-arts organization. Boyle was selected to receive the Laetare Medal in recognition of outstanding service to the Catholic Church and society in March 2017. In 2024, he received the

Presidential Medal of Freedom The Presidential Medal of Freedom is the highest civilian award of the United States, alongside the Congressional Gold Medal. It is an award bestowed by decision of the president of the United States to "any person recommended to the President ...

for his work.

References

External links

*
PBS Tell Me More: Father Greg Boyle
{{DEFAULTSORT:Boyle, Greg 1954 births Living people 20th-century American Jesuits 21st-century American Jesuits American male non-fiction writers Gonzaga University alumni American homelessness activists Activists from Los Angeles American housing rights activists Loyola Marymount University alumni Boston College School of Theology and Ministry alumni Catholics from California Laetare Medal recipients 21st-century American memoirists James Beard Foundation Award winners Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients 20th-century American male writers 21st-century American male writers Loyola High School (Los Angeles) alumni