by Kittredge Cherry | | Saints
Thomas(ine) Hall was an intersex person in 17th-century colonial America who caused controversy by switching back and forth between genders. The Jamestown court ruled that Hall was both “a man and a woman” and ordered him/her to wear male and female clothing...
by Kittredge Cherry | | Saints
Malachy of Armagh is an 11th-century Irish saint who died in the arms of his more famous soulmate, Saint Bernard of Clairvaux. Their monastic community honored the male couple as “two stars of such surpassing brightness” and a “twofold treasure.” Bernard showered...
by Kittredge Cherry | | Saints
Sally Gross was an intersex South African anti-apartheid activist who became a Catholic priest — but was stripped of clergy status after revealing that she identified as female in the 1990s. She became an intersex activist, winning legal recognition of intersex...
by Kittredge Cherry | | Feb 16-29, Oct 1-15, Saints
John Henry Newman, a 19th-century British scholar, theologian and cardinal, was canonized by the Pope as a Roman Catholic saint in 2019 amid rampant speculation that he was gay. Newman’s feast day is Oct. 9 in the Roman Catholic church, Feb. 21 in the Episcopal Church...
by Kittredge Cherry | | Saints
A queer Christ figure is the main character in the classic lesbian novel, “The Well of Loneliness” by Radclyffe Hall. She was born on Aug. 12, 1880 in Bournemouth, England. The book was banned for obscenity in England in 1928, not just because it portrayed lesbian...
by Kittredge Cherry | | Saints
Alan Turing is a gay icon, pioneering computer scientist and British codebreaker. He is sometimes called a gay saint because his wartime codebreaking saved millions of lives, and a gay martyr because he was driven to suicide by court-ordered “chemical castration”...
by Kittredge Cherry | | Saints
Biblical arguments for LGBTQ rights and a queer Jesus may seem like new ideas, but they were pioneered about 200 years ago by an influential British philosopher — in writings that were published only in recent years. Philosopher Jeremy Bentham (1748 –...
by Kittredge Cherry | | Saints
Alcuin of York was an 8th-century English scholar and abbot who served as advisor to Emperor Charlemagne and wrote homoerotic poetry and letters. His feast day is May 20 in Episcopal and other Anglican churches. Called “the most learned man anywhere to be found,”...
by Kittredge Cherry | | Saints
Julian of Norwich is a medieval English mystic who celebrated “Mother Jesus.” Her feast day, May 8, always falls near Mother’s Day. It’s not known if Julian herself was queer, but some of her ideas were. Julian is often listed with LGBTQ saints because of her...
by Kittredge Cherry | | Saints
Christina Georgina Rossetti was a 19th-century English poet whose work ranged from Christmas carols to sensuous lesbian love poetry. A devout Christian who never married, she has been called a “queer virgin” and “gay mystic.” Her feast day is April 27 on the Church of...