Alberto Hurtado - Life and Work

Life and Work

Right from the early days of his studies in labour law, and before becoming a Jesuit, Hurtado had his mind and heart set on tackling social issues and problems. Before returning to Chile, he visited social and educational centers in Germany, France, Belgium and the Netherlands.

Back home, in 1936, Hurtado's ministry expanded to the pastoring of the Chilean poor, especially disadvantaged children, teenagers and young adults. He was a religion teacher and later educated future teachers in the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile. Spiritual formation was also important. He gave regular retreats according to the Spiritual Exercises (of St Ignatius of Loyola) and helped them in the process to discover their vocations in the service of Christ.

There was much social inequality in Chile during this time, and conservative Catholics in the nation had difficulty accepting the Vatican's social teachings. As late as 1931, the official party organ (aligned with the church hierarchy) refused to publish Quadragesimo Anno, and when a group of clergy petitioned Archbishop José Horacio Campillo Infante to remove the editors, he refused and stated it was "necessary to protect Catholics from the imprudent acts of the pope".

In 1936, he authored an article entitled La Crisis Sacerdotal en Chile, which addressed the problem of the shortage of priests in Chile; his analysis was criticized as 'exaggerated'. He criticized the level of catechism instruction offered in Chile, and wrote that young men often signed up as catechists but lacked the necessary certificate.