Today is the memorial dayof [at least] 13 Saints and Blesseds, ranging from [the fairly well-known] St. Helena to [the incredibly obscure, but Irish] St. Daig Maccairaill.  Among this happy throng is St. Alberto Hurtado. 

Born in 1901, this Chilean Jesuit priest was a lawyer, social worker, trade union organizer, writer and founder of the Hogar de Cristo movement.  He died of pancreatic cancer on this day in 1952 and was canonized by Pope Benedict in 2005.

Apart from all the remarkable things this saint achieved during his relatively short lifetime, I was surprized to learn that this dead Chilean has more than 27,000 Facebook fans.  Way to go, Alberto! 

[Hat tip to Denise for noticing his Facebook stats.]