Founder of Hogar de Cristo Alberto Hurtado (1901-1952)

"Give until it hurts". Perhaps this phrase best defines Father

Hurtado, one of the most exciting characters of the
contemporary Catholic Church in Chile and the world. His deep
faith, his enveloping and attractive personality, his ability to
grasp the ideological and cultural change of the times in which he
lived, and the vehemence with which he carried out countless
occupations throughout his short life, make him a unique figure.

Luis Alberto Miguel Hurtado Cruchaga was born in Viña del Mar,
in the bosom of an impoverished aristocratic family. When he
was four years old, his father died, leaving Alberto and his
younger brother in the care of their mother, with whom they
moved to Santiago, to the home of some uncles.

Although from a very young age his only vocation was the
priesthood, he studied law at the Pontifical Catholic University,
graduating at the age of twenty-two. Only days after finishing his
studies, he entered the Jesuit novitiate in Chillán, initiating
himself in the profession that was his true vocation.

His priestly ordination took place in Louvain, Belgium, many kilometers away from Chile. His stay in
Europe was intensely used for the study of subjects that would train him to achieve one of the goals he
most desired: working with young people. In 1936 he returned to Chile as a brand new doctor in
Psychology and Pedagogy to teach religion classes in what had been his school during his primary and
secondary education: San Ignacio. Thus began a life of intense work, in which the teaching profession
would be only one of his many fronts of struggle.

Around 1941, Alberto Hurtado was appointed Archdiocesan Advisor of Catholic Youth. The special
characteristics of his personality made him an influential model for the youth of the time, to whom he
directed several works, among them: Message to the Youth and Influence of the Media on Youth. He
was the founder and first director of the magazine Mensaje.

Another of his concerns was the living conditions of the workers. He insistently advocated the
unionization of workers as the main means of improving their quality of life, overcoming inequalities and
implementing a Christian social order. To this end, he founded the Chilean Trade Union Association
(ASICH). All this, together with his persistent criticism of the way of life of the Chilean upper class,
earned him the antipathy of influential people who, accusing him of having "advanced ideas on the
social level", made him resign from his position as advisor to the Catholic Youth.

Together with the youth and the workers, his cause was directed to the hardest extreme of poverty:
destitution. He himself repeated: "To end poverty is impossible, but to fight against it is a sacred duty".
To this day, many still remember him traveling the streets with his green van, picking up destitute
children, adults and the elderly. It was this work that gave rise to Hogar de Cristo, consisting of hospices
and homes for children and the elderly throughout the country, which is the work that has given Father
Alberto Hurtado the greatest renown and one of the main milestones in his biography.

His early death in 1952 as a result of cancer, caused the grief of many Chileans who to this day
remember his life and work with affection and devotion.

On October 16, 1994, an event long awaited by all the followers of Father Hurtado took place; he was
beatified by Pope John Paul II. On October 23, 2005, Pope Benedict XVI canonized Father Alberto
Hurtado, declaring him a saint of the Catholic Church.

Julia, una estudiante del 5to de secundaria de la IE Señor de los Milagros, nació en las alturas de la
provincia de Caylloma. En invierno todos los años se produce los fenómenos climatológicos, como las
heladas y el friaje que afectan el bienestar de las familias y la producción agrícola y ganadera. Esta
situación perjudica y disminuye la capacidad de satisfacer necesidades básicas, como la alimentación, y
la demanda de productos agrícolas y de especies pecuarias del mercado local, regional, nacional e
internacional. Ahora, Julia se pregunta: ¿Qué soluciones podemos proponer para prevenir y enfrentar
las consecuencias de las heladas y el friaje, con el propósito de promover el bienestar de las familias
impulsando la producción agrícola y ganadera?