Father Gregory Boyle, S.J., M.A. '85
Father Gregory Boyle, a Jesuit priest, is the founder of Homeboy Industries in Los Angeles, the largest gang intervention, rehabilitation, and re-entry program in the world.
Born and raised in Los Angeles, Fr. Boyle served as pastor of Dolores Mission Church in Boyle Heights from 1986 to 1992. Dolores Mission was the poorest Catholic parish in Los Angeles and had the highest concentration of gang activity in the city.
Fr. Boyle witnessed the devastating impact of gang violence on his community during the so-called “decade of death” that began in the late 1980s and peaked at 1,000 gang-related killings in 1992. In the face of law enforcement tactics and criminal justice policies of suppression and mass incarceration, as the means to end gang violence, he and parish community members adopted what was a radical approach at the time: treat gang members as human beings.
In 1988, they launched what would eventually become Homeboy Industries. This organization employs and trains former gang members in various social enterprises while also providing essential services to thousands of individuals who come through its doors each year in search of a better life.
Fr. Boyle is the author of the 2010 New York Times bestseller "Tattoos on the Heart: The Power of Boundless Compassion." He followed this with "Barking to the Choir: The Power of Radical Kinship" in 2017 and "The Whole Language: The Power of Extravagant Tenderness" in 2021. Recently, he released "Forgive Everyone Everything," an anthology of writings paired with artwork by Fabian Debora. His newest book, "Cherished Belonging: The Healing Power of Love in Divided Times," was published in 2024.
He has received the California Peace Prize and has been inducted into the California Hall of Fame. In 2014, President Obama named Fr. Boyle a Champion of Change. He received the University of Notre Dame’s 2017 Laetare Medal, the oldest honor given to American Catholics. Homeboy Industries was the recipient of the 2020 Hilton Humanitarian Prize, validating 32 years of Fr. Boyle’s vision and work by the organization for over three decades. Most recently, he was one of the recipients of the 2024 Presidential Medal of Freedom, the United States’ highest civilian honor.