Streetwise priests (; ; ; ) are

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...

s who exercise their spiritual mandate by living in structures in direct contact with the "street", which is their mission land. Historical streetwise priests include

Philip Neri Saint Philip Neri , born Filippo Romolo Neri, (22 July 151526 May 1595) was an Italian Catholic priest who founded the Congregation of the Oratory, a society of secular clergy dedicated to pastoral care and charitable work. He is sometimes refe ...

(1515–1595) and

John Bosco John Melchior Bosco, Salesians of Don Bosco, SDB (; ; 16 August 181531 January 1888), popularly known as Don Bosco or Dom Bosco (International Phonetic Alphabet, IPA: ), was an Italian Catholic priest, educator and writer. While working in Tu ...

(1815–1888). Recently, the expression came to denote priests with reformist ideas, especially those involved in reform movements for social justice in a Christian context through service to the poor and marginalized. Their work covers various areas, such as education,

marginalization Social exclusion or social marginalisation is the social disadvantage and relegation to the fringe of society. It is a term that has been used widely in Europe and was first used in France in the late 20th century. In the EU context, the Euro ...

, imprisonment, development cooperation, drug addictions, disabilities, orphans and abandoned children,

prostitution Prostitution is a type of sex work that involves engaging in sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, no ...

, and

homelessness Homelessness, also known as houselessness or being unhoused or unsheltered, is the condition of lacking stable, safe, and functional housing. It includes living on the streets, moving between temporary accommodation with family or friends, liv ...

. In many cases, streetwise priests form groups, associations, or communities, especially inclusive of

laity In religious organizations, the laity () — individually a layperson, layman or laywoman — consists of all Church membership, members who are not part of the clergy, usually including any non-Ordination, ordained members of religious orders, e ...

. Through 2008, debates and conflicts with ecclesiastical hierarchy existed regarding

Catholic social teaching Catholic social teaching (CST) is an area of Catholic doctrine which is concerned with human dignity and the common good in society. It addresses oppression, the role of the state, subsidiarity, social organization, social justice, and w ...

and implementing the

Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the or , was the 21st and most recent ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. The council met each autumn from 1962 to 1965 in St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City for session ...

's doctrine.

Notable streetwise priests

Below is a list of priests who have been described as streetwise.

Central America

Oscar Romero Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People and fictional and mythical characters * Oscar (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters named Oscar, Óscar or Oskar * Oscar (footballer, born 1954), Brazilian footballer J ...

, El Salvador * Padre Gadalupe, James Carney, American missionary murdered in Honduras 1983 *

Juan José Gerardi Conedera Juan José Gerardi Conedera (27 December 1922 – 26 April 1998) was a Guatemalan Roman Catholic bishop and human rights defender who was long active in working with the indigenous Mayan peoples of the country. In the 1970s, he gained governme ...

, Guatemala

South America

Padre Cacho Padre means father in many Romance languages, and it may also refer to: __NOTOC__ Arts and entertainment * Padre (song), "Padre" (song), by Gloria Lasso, 1956; covered by Toni Arden (1958) and Elvis Presley (1973) * Padre (film), ''Padre'' (film), ...

, Uruguay * ''Don''

Gonzalo Aemilius Gonzalo Aemilius (born 18 September 1979 in Montevideo) is a Uruguayan Roman Catholic cleric who served as a personal secretary to Pope Francis from 2020 to 2023. In July 2023, he was replaced by Daniel Pellizzon. Biography Gonzalo Aemilius was ...

, Uruguay *

Monsignor Monsignor (; ) is a form of address or title for certain members of the clergy in the Catholic Church. Monsignor is the apocopic form of the Italian ''monsignore'', meaning "my lord". "Monsignor" can be abbreviated as Mons.... or Msgr. In some ...

Hélder Câmara Hélder Pessoa Câmara (7 February 1909 – 27 August 1999) was a Brazilian Catholic prelate who served as Archbishop of Olinda and Recife from 1964 to 1985 during the military dictatorship in Brazil. He was declared a Servant of God in 2015 ...

, Bishop * ''Don'' Júlio Lancellotti, Brazil

North America

Larry Rosebaugh Lawrence "Larry" Rosebaugh (also called Lorenzo) (May 16, 1935 – May 18, 2009) was an American streetwise priest, peace activist, and missionary from Wisconsin who spent many years working in Central and South America. He was murdered by maske ...

, O.M.I. *

Greg Boyle Gregory Joseph Boyle (born May 19, 1954) is an American Catholic priest of the Jesuit order. He is the founder and director of Homeboy Industries, the world's largest gang intervention and rehabilitation program, and former pastor of Dolores Mis ...

Michael Pfleger Michael Louis Pfleger (born May 22, 1949) is an American Catholic Church, Catholic priest and social activist located in Chicago. Since 1981, he has been pastor of St. Sabina Catholic Church, a African Americans, Black parish in Chicago's Auburn ...

France

Abbé Pierre Abbé Pierre (born Henri Marie Joseph Grouès; 5 August 191222 January 2007) was a French Catholic priest. He was a member of the Resistance (France), Resistance during World War II and deputy of the Popular Republican Movement. In 1949, he foun ...

(1912–2007) * Father

Guy Gilbert Guy Gilbert (born 12 September 1935) is a French Catholic priest and educator. Biography Born in Rochefort, Gilbert was educated at a seminary in Algeria and ministered in Algiers until 1970. He returned to France, to Paris, where he special ...

(b. 1935)

Italy

Tonino Bello (1935–1993), Bishop * ''Don''

Oreste Benzi Oreste Benzi (7 September 1925 - 2 November 2007) was an Italian Catholic priest and founder of the Pope John XXIII Community Association. Benzi championed the rights of the individual and founded his association to aid teenagers in their lives ...

(1925–2007), Comunità Papa Giovanni XXIII * ''Don''

Luigi Ciotti Luigi Ciotti Order of Merit of the Italian Republic, OMRI (born 10 September 1945), is an Italian Catholic priest belonging to the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Turin, involved in the fight against illegality and organized crime such as Sicilian ...

(b. 1945),

Gruppo Abele Gruppo may refer to: *Gruppo (music), a type of cadential trill in music * groupset, a bicycle component manufacturer's organized collection of mechanical parts *Leonard Gruppo Leonard Q. Gruppo (born October 6, 1942) is a former Republican memb ...

and

Libera Libera may refer to: * Libera (mythology), a Roman goddess of fertility * Libera (choir), a boy vocal group from London * ''Libera'' (film), a 1993 comedy film * "Libera" (song), a song by Italian artist Mia Martini * ''Libera'' (gastropod), a ...

* ''Don'' Peppino Diana (1958–1994), priest against the

Camorra The Camorra (; ) is an Italian Mafia-typeMafia and Mafia-type orga ...

* ''Don'' Andrea Gallo (1928–2013), Comunità di San Benedetto al Porto * ''Don''

Lorenzo Milani Lorenzo Carlo Domenico Milani Comparetti (27 May 1923 – 26 June 1967) was an Italian Catholic priest. He was an educator of poor children and an advocate of conscientious objection. Biography Milani was born in Florence in 1923 to a rich middle ...

(1923–1967),

Scuola di Barbiana ''Scuola'' ('school' in Italian; plural ''scuole'') is part of the name of many primary and secondary schools in Italy, Italian-language schools abroad, and institutes of tertiary education in Italy. Those are not listed in this disambiguation artic ...

* ''Don''

Pino Puglisi Giuseppe "Pino" Puglisi (, ; 15 September 1937 – 15 September 1993) was a Roman Catholic priest in the rough Palermo neighbourhood of Brancaccio. He openly challenged the Sicilian Mafia who controlled the neighbourhood and was killed by them o ...

(1937–1993), victim of the Sicilian Mafia * Father

Alex Zanotelli Father Alex Zanotelli (born August 26, 1938, Livo, Trentino) is an Italian Catholic priest of the Comboni Missionaries. He is the founder of several Italian movements whose goals include social harmony and equality. Biography Early life In ...

Ireland

* Fr

Peter McVerry Fr Peter McVerry, SJ (born 1944) is an Irish Roman Catholic priest and founder of the Peter McVerry Trust, notable for battling homelessness in Ireland.SJ (b. 1944)

References

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Bibliography

* Roberto Beretta e Giovanni Gazzaneo, ''Preti di strada: le frontiere dell'emarginazione e della speranza raccontate dai più noti sacerdoti anti-droga'', con prefazione di

Furio Colombo Furio Colombo (1 January 1931 – 14 January 2025) was an Italian journalist and politician. He started his career in the mid-1950s, working with RAI. In the late 1980s, after moving to New York he worked as a correspondent for ''La Stampa'' and ...

, SEI, Torino, 1995 *

Candido Cannavò Candido Cannavò (; 29 November 1930 – 22 February 2009) was an Italian journalist, well known as the historical editor (1983–2002) of the Italian sport newspaper ''La Gazzetta dello Sport''. Biography Cannavò was born in Cataniadescenda ...

, ''Pretacci: storie di uomini che portano il Vangelo sul marciapiede'', Rizzoli, Milano, 2008 * Mimmo Battaglia e Virginio Colmegna, ''I poveri hanno sempre ragione: storie di preti di strada'', Cittadella editrice,

Assisi Assisi (, also ; ; from ; Central Italian: ''Ascesi'') is a town and comune of Italy in the Province of Perugia in the Umbria region, on the western flank of Monte Subasio. It is generally regarded as the birthplace of the Latin poet Prope ...

, 2010 * Pierfilippo Pozzi (cur.), ''Dov'è Dio: il Vangelo quotidiano secondo quattro preti di strada'',

Einaudi Einaudi is an Italian surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Luigi Einaudi (1874–1961), Italian politician * Mario Einaudi (1904–1994), Italian political scientist, son of Luigi * Giulio Einaudi (1912–1999), Italian publisher, s ...

, Torino, 2011

External links

Federazione italiana Organismi per le Persone Senza Fissa Dimora

CNCA – Coordinamento nazionale comunità di accoglienza

RAI, "La storia siamo noi", ''Preti di strada – Una mano tesa contro la disperazione (Don Gallo a Genova, Don Alessandro Santoro a Firenze, Don Virginio Colmegna a Milano, Padre Antonio Poletti a Caserta''
Roman Catholic orders and societies Christian theological movements Religion and politics Liberation theology Catholic social teaching Christian radicalism