Fr. Chris Riley, Australian priest who dedicated his life to homeless young people, died on August 1 at age 70, after a long disease. For decades he transformed thousands of lives with his project Youth Off The Streets (Young people outside the streets).
The Prime Minister of Australia, Anthony Albanese, headed national tributes to the Salesian priest with a Message posted in X.
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“Father Chris Riley had a heart as big as the country he served. He gave hope to young people who crossed difficult moments and never surrendered to anyone. He was a good friend, and his legacy will live in the lives he changed,” said the prime minister.
Christopher Keith Riley was born on November 24, 1954 in the rural area of Victoria and was ordered Salesian priest in 1982, after being raised in a dairy farm, according to informó The Catholic Weekly.
His work began in 1991, when he founded Youth Off the Streets with a simple food van that attended homeless young people in the Kings Cross area, in the Sydney center.
Under its leadership for almost three decades, the project went from being a modest initiative to become an integral organization, with more than 220 employees and more than 30 programs in operation in the states of Nueva Wales del Sur and Queensland.
Currently, according to a press release From Youth Off the Streets, the organization serves about 1,600 homeless young people every year.
The Prime Minister of New South Wales, Chris Minns, said in A statement His deep sadness for Riley’s death, and described him as a visionary whose work showed that “with compassion and opportunities, young lives can be transformed.”
Minns highlighted how the Salesian priest transformed “a simple food van in Kings Cross into a saving network of emergency accommodation, counseling and other comprehensive support services.”
For his part, the opposition leader in Nueva Wales del Sur, Mark Speakman (of the Liberal Party), praised Father Riley as “a silent giant” who offered “a shelter and a second chance to tens of thousands of young people,” Cathnews reported.
The bipartisan recognition reflects the deep respect that Fr. Riley reaped throughout the Australian political spectrum.
Anne Fitzgerald, president of the Youth Off the Streets Board of Directors, He remembered the priest as “a tireless defender of homeless young people and disadvantagely” who “inspired and transformed the lives of thousands of young people.”
He also highlighted his “compassion, tenacity and firm conviction that every young man deserves the opportunity to achieve their maximum potential.”
Australian society recognized the work of the Catholic priest with several honors: in 2006, the Government appointed him a member of The Australian Order for their services to young people in vulnerability. That same year, the Human Rights Commission and equal opportunities awarded the Human Rights Medal.
Fr. Riley retired from active leadership in 2022 due to the deterioration of his health, although he remained linked to the organization he founded. His death marks the end of an era in the attention to young people in Australia, although his legacy is still alive in the work that the institution continues to develop.
Judy Barrachrouch, current executive director of Youth Off the Streets, said in the statement of the organization that the dedication of P. Riley to “support and empower Australian young people in a situation of necessity has left a powerful legacy.”
“Your vision, push and determination will continue to inspire our organization,” he added.
Translated and adapted by ACI Press. Originally published inCNA.
AC Wimmer
AC Wimmer is a founder in the founder of CNA Deutsch. This Australian polyglot, raised in Bavaria and South Africa, occupied high positions in the SBS of Australia and was editor in chief of the historic Münchner Kirchenzeitung. Bachelor of Chinese Philosophy and Studies from the University of Melbourne, Anian Christoph Wimmer – Chinese Name 刘威猛 – was part of the jury of the Media Prize of the German Episcopal Conference, is former honorary researcher in communications at the University of Melbourne and was part of the Caritas Council in Munich.