PORTLAND — Cheverus High School, located on 267 Ocean Avenue in Portland, will welcome the founder of the largest gang intervention, rehabilitation, and reentry program in the country on Tuesday, May 24.
Fr. Greg Boyle, S.J., will be the Ignatian Year Speaker in the Keegan Gymnasium at 7 p.m. This event is free and open to the public, but for planning purposes, please RSVP at GregBoyle.Cheverus.org.
Fr. Boyle is a beloved Jesuit priest and a New York Times bestselling author, having written “Tattoos on the Heart” and “Barking to the Choir.” On May 24, he will speak about his newest book, “Whole Language: the Extravagant Power of Tenderness,” a call to witness the transformative power of tenderness that is rooted in his many years of counseling gang members in Los Angeles. Boyle was named pastor of Dolores Mission Church in Los Angeles in 1986 at a time when the city was known as the gang capital of the world. Homeboy Industries (www.homeboyindustries.org) was born in 1988 and since has stood as a beacon of hope in Los Angeles to provide training and support to formerly gang-involved and previously incarcerated people, allowing them to redirect their lives and become contributing members of the community. Freewill donations to support Homeboy Industries will be accepted at the door on May 24.
The event is part of the Ignatian Year celebration in Maine and is co-sponsored by Cheverus, Our Lady of Hope Parish in Portland, St. Brigid School in Portland, the Ignatian Volunteer Corps, and the Ignatian Spirituality Partnership of Maine. The Ignatian Year is the global celebration of the 500th anniversary of the conversion of St. Ignatius, the founder of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits). For more information, please contact Jeannette Wycoff at 207-774-6238, ext. 186, or [email protected].
