Book Review: Priest and Beggar by Kevin Wells

Priest and Beggar: The Heroic Life of Venerable Aloysius Schwartz by Kevin Wells

Aloysius Schwartz had a fairly normal childhood grown up in 1930s Washington, D.C. He loved his family and read comic books, dreaming of being a Nazi-fight hero. As he grew up, his priorities shifted and he desired to become a priest and work in missions, living a life of poverty and service as Jesus did. His American seminary wanted to shift him to an academic life, so he went to Europe to join the Societe des Auxiliaries des Missions, which had a focus on missionary work. He saw the fine, large, comfortable seminaries as totally unlike the life of the poor in the street, with whom he wanted to identify so he could serve them better. One academic break, he visited Banneux, France, where Mary had appeared as "the Virgin of the Poor." At the Banneux shrine, he promised his service in her name if she would help him get to mission country. His desire was to go to South Korea, which had just finished the civil war that left the country divided and devastated. He returned to D.C. to be ordained and was sent from there to the diocese of Busan. 

Arriving in Korea, he was shocked at the poverty and corruption everywhere. He started to learn Korean and work in a local parish but fell deathly ill. He had to return to the United States to recuperate, which turned out to be a blessing. After his recovery, he traveled around telling American Catholics about the conditions in Korea. People started donating money. Eventually, the Busan bishop came over and they criss-crossed the country in a broken-down car, getting donations everywhere. They returned to Korea where they used the money to open shelters, schools, clinics, and hospitals for the poorest of the poor. To staff these, Fr. Schwartz founded the Sisters of Mary, an order of young women who served in simplicity and love. In the orphanages, each sister had six to eight boys assigned to her. She was a mother to them. She cleaned them up and cared for them, playing with them and teaching them the Faith. The concept expanded to Boystowns and Girlstowns founded first in Korea, later in other countries.

His success did not come easy. The American bishops complained to Rome about the needs of the poor in America. Why should all the money go to Korea? The papal investigation validated Fr. Schwartz's work. The local bishop had some of the Korean relief money but was not handling it well, so Fr. Schwartz cut him off, not a popular move. Fr. Schwartz also had to deal with the Korean organized crime, which was exploiting the civic welfare system, taking the medicines and food intended for the homeless and selling it on the black market. Through courage and hard dealing, Father Schwartz was able to take over several ghastly "relief" homes and convert them to serving the poor, not the community organizers.

All the while, he kept up his priestly duties and lived a very humble life. He lived in a shack behind his rectory with no electricity or running water. He never had cash on him and was very thin. He had a joyful disposition and was able to inspire others to help him. The Boystown/Girlstown model expanded to the Philippines and Latin America. In the last years of his life Fr. Schwartz developed ALS, a debilitating disease that slowly took away his physical abilities. He died in 1992 but his legacy lives on.

His story is inspiring and well-told by author Wells. Schwartz was declared Venerable in 2015 and his cause for sainthood seems assured. So many people who knew him thought of him as a saint. He is a great and inspiring example of faith in action, like Mother Theresa or Damian of Molokai.

Highly recommended.