Father Aloysius Schwartz: Superhero for the Poor

From the time Aloysius Schwartz was a young boy, he wanted to be a hero like his comic book favorites. To the poor he served in Asia and Latin America, the missionary priest was more than a hero; he was a saint.

Growing up during the Depression, the future "Father Al" saw his parents struggle to make ends meet. But nothing quite prepared him for the poverty he saw in South Korea after the Korean War. The people were not simply poor; they were starving. Father Al was moved to do everything he could to help them, especially the orphaned children living in the streets.

With funds raised mostly in the United States, Father Al opened orphanages and boarding schools for thousands of poor children, and not only in South Korea. He built what he called Boystowns and Girlstowns in the Philippines and Mexico too, and he founded the Sisters of Mary and the Brothers of Christ to run them.

It seemed that nothing could slow down this intrepid, big-hearted priest--that is, until he was struck with Lou Gehrig's disease. As he began to decline, he remained cheerful, full of hope that the God he had served so faithfully was awaiting him in heaven.