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Aloysius Schwartz
1930–1992
“The historical Christ chose to be poor, and his disciples have no choice but to follow.”
Path to Sainthood
Servant of God
2003
Venerable
2015
Blessed
Saint
Father of the World’s Poorest Children
Aloysius Schwartz was born in Washington, D.C., on September 18, 1930, one of seven children of a working-class family. Formed at St. Charles College, Maryknoll, and the Catholic University of Louvain, he was ordained a priest in Washington on June 29, 1957, and arrived that December in war-shattered Busan, South Korea, resolving to serve the poorest as a missionary.
After early illness forced a recuperation, he returned to Korea in 1961, founded the fundraising charity Korean Relief, and on August 15, 1964, founded the Sisters of Mary, a Korean congregation devoted to destitute children and the sick. Through the Sisters he built the Boystown and Girlstown boarding communities, plus hospitals, hospices, and clinics, later expanding to the Philippines in 1985 and Mexico in 1990. He received the Ramon Magsaysay Award in 1983 and was twice reported nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. In 1981 he also founded the Brothers of Christ.
Diagnosed with Lou Gehrig’s disease in 1989 and given a few years to live, he intensified rather than curtailed his work, directing the Mexican foundations from a wheelchair. He died on March 16, 1992, at the Sisters of Mary Girlstown in Manila and is buried at Silang, Cavite.
His cause opened in the Archdiocese of Manila in December 2003, and Pope Francis declared him Venerable on January 22, 2015. The Sisters of Mary schools today serve tens of thousands of children worldwide.
In His Own Words
“Christ himself was marked by the sign of poverty. He was born under it, lived under it, and died under it. The historical Christ chose to be poor and a concomitant fact is, his disciples have no choice but to follow.”
- Quoted in Catholic World Report
“Our role is to mingle our blood with the blood of Christ, and to shed our blood with that of Christ to the poor.”
- Quoted in Catholic World Report
Timeline
World Villages for Children
The Sisters of Mary continue Father Al’s Boystowns and Girlstowns across six countries. World Villages for Children, his US-based charity, supports the work and promotes his cause.
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Born
September 18, 1930
Washington, D.C.
Died
March 16, 1992
Manila, Philippines
Venerable
January 22, 2015
Decree of Pope Francis
Founder
Sisters of Mary
Boystowns and Girlstowns
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