Saints Archives - Page 10 of 16

Medieval holy men Vivaldo and Bartolo: Love stronger than death for AIDS patrons

by Kittredge Cherry | | May 1-15, Saints

A pair of medieval holy men faced disease together with a love that speaks across the centuries to the LGBTQ community and all people in the age of COVID-19, AIDS and Ebola. Thirteenth-century Franciscans Blessed Bartolo and Blessed Vivaldo ministered in an Italian...

Christina Rossetti: Queer writer of Christmas carols and lesbian poetry

by Kittredge Cherry | | April 16-30, 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...

Yook Woo-Dang: Gay Catholic South Korean poet who died to protest anti-LGBTQ discrimination

by Kittredge Cherry | | April 16-30, Saints

Yook Woo-Dang was a gay South Korean poet, activist and devout Catholic who took his own life to protest discrimination against LGBTQ people by church and society. He died April 26, 2003, at age 18. “If they send me to hell, Jesus will rescue me,” he wrote in his...

Bangladesh LGBTQ martyrs: Xulhaz Mannan and Tanay Mojumdar

by Kittredge Cherry | | April 16-30, Saints

LGBTQ activists Xulhaz Mannan and Tanay Mojumdar were hacked to death for being “pioneers of practicing and promoting homosexuality in Bangladesh” on April 25, 2016 in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The militant Islamist militant group Al-Qaeda claimed responsibility...

Earth Day: LGBTQ spirituality affirms the Earth

by Kittredge Cherry | | April 16-30, Calendar, Saints, Theology

On Earth Day queer spirituality affirms that God’s all-inclusive love extends to the Earth itself. Many LGBTQ people join with others to care for creation on Earth Day (April 22). LGBTQ people have been involved in the environmental movement from the start, including...

William Dorsey Swann: From slavery to queer freedom in 1880s as America’s first drag queen

by Kittredge Cherry | | April 1-15, Saints

Born into slavery, William Dorsey Swann became the first American to lead a queer resistance group, first to self-identify as a “queen of drag,” and first to use the U.S. legal system to defend the queer community. He battled police in a cream satin gown when they...

Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Eberhard Bethge: Anti-Nazi theologians and soulmates

by Kittredge Cherry | | April 1-15, Saints

Influential German theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer was an anti-Nazi dissident whom a few scholars believe experienced same-sex attraction. Speculation about his likely gay orientation focuses on his love for Eberhard Bethge, who was his best friend and biographer....

Anne Lister had historic lesbian church wedding in 1834

by Kittredge Cherry | | March 16-31, Saints

Historical lesbian Anne Lister married Ann Walker on March 30, 1834 at Holy Trinity Church in York, England. It is considered the first recorded lesbian wedding in the history of Britain and perhaps even the world. Her wedding anniversary falls right before the...

Adrienne Rich: lesbian poet with spiritual impulses

by Kittredge Cherry | | March 16-31, Saints

Adrienne Rich was a lesbian feminist with spiritual impulses and one of the most influential poets of the 20th century. She died on March 27, 2012 at age 82. Her writing was a guiding light to me and countless others, both people of faith and secular readers. The...

Theodore “Ted” Jennings: LGBTQ-affirming Biblical theologian

by Kittredge Cherry | | March 16-31, Saints

Theodore “Ted” Jennings is a Chicago Theological Seminary professor who wrote “The Man Jesus Loved” and other landmark books affirming queer people the Bible. He died on March 25, 2020, at age 77 after suffering a stroke. Theodore Wesley Jennings Jr. was born Oct. 24,...