Class of 2023 Commencement Speaker Announced

Father Gregory Boyle of Homeboy Industries to speak at 172nd commencement ceremony

Father Gregory Boyle, S.J., STM ‘86, will be the keynote speaker for the 172nd commencement ceremony at Santa Clara on June 17. He is a Jesuit priest and founder of Homeboy Industries in Los Angeles, the largest gang-intervention, rehabilitation and re-entry program in the world.

Fr. Boyle created Homeboy Industries in 1988 to take a “radical kinship” approach to the gang violence and law enforcement tactics he witnessed when he was pastor of Dolores Mission Church in Boyle Heights. 

The organization employs and trains former gang members in a range of social enterprises, and provides critical services such as training in anger management, help for substance abuse and a tattoo removal program. 

Fr. Boyle has received many awards for his service to the community, including the California Peace Prize and induction into the California Hall of Fame. He was named a Champion of Change by President Obama in 2014, and received the University of Notre Dame’s 2017 Laetare Medal, the oldest honor given to American Catholics. The James Beard Foundation, a national-culinary arts organization, named Boyle the 2016 Humanitarian of the Year. Homeboy Industries was the recipient of the 2020 Hilton Humanitarian Prize, validating 32 years of Fr. Greg Boyle’s vision and work by the organization for over three decades. 

Information provided by Homeboy Industries.