Father Gregory Boyle speaks at 100 Gasson Hall. Photos by Tim Correira.
The Boston College School of Social Work officially launched its new initiative,聽Accompaniment in Action, with a Q&A featuring Father Gregory Boyle, a Jesuit priest who founded the world鈥檚 largest gang-intervention, rehabilitation, and re-entry program.
Framed by three stained glass windows, Boyle told more than 100 students, faculty, and staff who filled 100 Gasson Hall on the first Wednesday in September that accompaniment is the practice of entering into relationships with people鈥攑articularly those on the margins鈥攏ot to save or fix them, but to be transformed by their presence, wisdom, and humanity. It鈥檚 about building a community of kinship where divisions dissolve, he said, mutual belonging is fostered, and both parties are continually renewed through authentic connection.
鈥淵ou don鈥檛 go to the margins to make a difference. Then it鈥檚 about you,鈥� said Boyle, who received a M.Div. in 1984 from the Weston Jesuit School of Theology, which reaffiliated with BC in 2008 to form the Clough School of Theology and Ministry. 鈥淏ut you go to the margins so that the folks at the margins make you different. Then it鈥檚 about us. And so the goal is to create a community of kinship such that God might recognize it where there is no us and them, there鈥檚 just us.鈥�
BCSSW recently named Accompaniment in Action as its theme for the new academic year, fostering a model of education built on listening, kinship, and mutual transformation.
At its heart, accompaniment means walking alongside others鈥攕haring their burdens and hopes, staying present as long as needed, and being continually renewed through genuine relationships, especially with those on the margins.
In practice, it鈥檚 built on four principles that mirror the :
Walking together鈥攕upporting communities on their own terms
Kinship and shared dignity鈥攔ecognizing partners鈥� equal worth and fostering belonging
Intentional engagement鈥攚orking toward mutual transformation
Social justice鈥攃hallenging unequal systems
“ You don鈥檛 go to the margins to make a difference. Then it鈥檚 about you. But you go to the margins so that the folks at the margins make you different. Then it鈥檚 about us. And so the goal is to create a community of kinship such that God might recognize it where there is no us and them, there鈥檚 just us. ”
As the founder of Homeboy Industries, Boyle has spent nearly 40 years building kinship with former gang members in Los Angeles. His work鈥攚hich includes providing free education, legal services, and job training鈥攊s less about outcomes or evidence-based measures of success, and more about delighting in the person in front of him. That kind of presence, he argued, can be 鈥渆ternally replenishing鈥� for both social workers and the people they accompany.聽
鈥淚t isn鈥檛 service provider, service recipient鈥攊t鈥檚 the mutuality you鈥檙e going for,鈥� he said, referring to the type of relationship that social workers should strive to build with their clients. 鈥淭he more you can make sure that it isn鈥檛 about you, I think the better鈥攖hat鈥檚 eternally replenishing.鈥�
Boyle called this way of being radical kinship: the 鈥渆xquisite mutuality where there is no us and them, where there is no daylight that separates you.鈥�
In her introductory remarks, BCSSW Professor Roc铆o Calvo tied BCSSW鈥檚 focus on accompaniment to the University鈥檚 Jesuit mission, which calls students to find purpose, live fulfilling lives, and understand the world around them.
鈥淎ccompaniment is a core value of the Jesuit mission,鈥� said Calvo, who is overseeing BCSSW鈥檚 new initiative in collaboration with Teresa Schirmer, associate dean of student experience. 鈥淚t shapes everything we do鈥攜our foundation as future social workers and how we work with communities.鈥�
As part of the Q&A, two men who have come through Homeboy鈥檚 doors鈥擱afael Chavez and Spencer Edwards鈥攕hared their own stories of what accompaniment looks like in practice.聽
After spending nearly 30 years in prison, Chavez said that he was met with unconditional love at Homeboy Industries. Now he tries to give that same love back to newcomers who are just starting their journeys in search of healing and growth.
鈥淚 felt the love at Homeboy immediately from everyone. Even people that don鈥檛 even know me, you know?鈥� he said. 鈥淣ow I reciprocate everything everybody gives me鈥擨 give it back.鈥�
From left to right: Roc铆o Calvo, Spencer Edwards, Father Gregory Boyle, Teresa Schirmer, and Rafael Chavez.
Edwards said that he was shot multiple times as a teenager and imprisoned for nearly two decades. He came to Homeboy Industries in April, closed off and unwilling to trust anyone.聽
His first encounter with Boyle, whom he affectionately called 鈥淔ather G,鈥� left him stunned: Boyle pressed $300 into his hand, Edwards tried to refuse it, but Boyle wouldn鈥檛 let him. 鈥淵ou're not different from anybody else up in here,鈥� Edwards recalled Boyle telling him. 鈥淵ou've been in the same situation. Just a little bit worse. Why are you so hard about taking help?鈥�
On stage at BC, six months later, Edwards described Homeboy Industries as the first place he found a true family. 鈥淭his is my father,鈥� he said, referring to Boyle, before adding, 鈥渒inship is family, kinship is hope, kinship is never given up.鈥�
These testimonies captured what accompaniment in action really means, according to Boyle: entering into the lives of others so that everyone is changed.
The challenge, he said, is that accompaniment asks a lot of those who practice it, especially social workers. It calls for endurance and deep commitment鈥攖he patience to return again and again, offering presence and support without ever imposing an agenda.
鈥淚t鈥檚 about casting your lot, really accompanying people,鈥� said Boyle. 鈥淚鈥檓 going to live with folks. I鈥檓 going to be the slave of the slaves, as Jesuit Priest Peter Claver said. It鈥檚 a way of saying, 鈥業 am with you.鈥欌�澛�
As the conversation drew to a close, he advised social workers to abandon the pursuit of success as a measure of their work and instead focus on building connections rooted in faith. Quoting Mother Teresa, he reminded the audience: 鈥淲e鈥檙e not called to be successful. We鈥檙e called to be faithful.鈥�
