DOWNEY – Father Greg Boyle of Homeboy Industries will be the guest speaker at an event hosted by the Women’s Guild of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church on Thursday, Jan. 26. 

Boyle served as pastor of Dolores Mission Church in Boyle Heights from 1986 to 1992, then the poorest Catholic parish in Los Angeles that also had the highest concentration of gang activity in the city.

In 1988 they started what would eventually become Homeboy Industries, which employs and trains former gang members in a range of social enterprises, as well as provides critical services to thousands of men and women.

Boyle is the author of the 2010 New York Times-bestseller “Tattoos on the Heart: The Power of Boundless Compassion.” His latest book, “Barking to the Choir: The Power of Radical Kinship,” was published in 2017.

Boyle’s talk begins at 7 pm at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church, 10727 Downey Ave. A freewill offering will be taken to benefit Homeboy Industries. 

For questions, call (562) 923-3246.