Tattoos on the Heart: The Power of Boundless Compassion

Tattoos on the Heart: The Power of Boundless Compassion (2010) is a memoir written by Catholic priest Gregory (Greg) Boyle. The memoir relays Boyle’s experiences serving as the leader of the Dolores Mission Church in the gang capital of the world, Los Angeles. Boyle, a Jesuit, performed his earliest missionary work in an impoverished Bolivian village. There, Boyle gained two lifelong attributes: an unyielding desire to help the poor and the ability to speak Spanish, both of which would define his later ministry efforts.

After returning from his mission to Bolivia, Boyle requested for his next transfer to be to an area where he could continue to directly focus on helping the poor; Boyle’s wish was promptly granted in 1986 when he was assigned to minister at the Dolores Mission Church, which was located in the poorest parish in Los Angeles. Once there, it did not take Boyle long to see how gang violence was crippling the lives of many in the community, so Boyle made a commitment to himself to make a concerted effort to help change gang members’ lives for the better. Boyle would treat them like humans, whereas everyone else seemed to treat them like lepers.