Sept 15-30 Archives

Rumi: Poet and Sufi mystic inspired by same-sex love

by Kittredge Cherry | | Saints, Sept 15-30

Rumi is a 13th-century Persian poet and Sufi mystic whose love for another man inspired some of the world’s best poems and led to the creation of a new religious order, the Whirling Dervishes. He was born Sept. 30, 1207 in Afghanistan. With sensuous beauty and deep...

FannyAnn Eddy: Lesbian martyr in Africa

by Kittredge Cherry | | Saints, Sept 15-30

FannyAnn Eddy was a major activist for LGBTQ rights in her native Sierra Leone and the rest of Africa. She was murdered on Sept. 29, 2004. Nobody was ever convicted of the crime. She founded the Sierra Leone Lesbian and Gay Association in 2002 and advocated for LGBTQ...

Good (Gay?) King Wenceslas loved his page Podiven

by Kittredge Cherry | | Saints, Sept 15-30

There’s good reason to believe that Good King Wenceslas was gay. Yes, the king in the Christmas carol. His feast day is Sept. 28. Saint Wenceslaus I (907–935) was duke of Bohemia (now the Czech Republic). The carol “Good King Wenceslas” is based on a...

Euphrosyne / Smaragdus of Alexandria: Queer saint crossed gender divide in 5th-century Egypt

by Kittredge Cherry | | Saints, Sept 15-30

Euphrosyne / Smaragdus (Emerald) of Alexandria is a 5th-century saint who left life as a woman to become a monk in an Egyptian monastery. Raised as the daughter of a wealthy couple, the future saint ran away from home at age 18 to avoid heterosexual marriage....

Virginia Mollenkott: Trailblazing queer theologian and feminist Bible scholar

by Kittredge Cherry | | Saints, Sept 15-30

Virginia Ramey Mollenkott was a trailblazing feminist Bible scholar and queer theologian whose 13 books liberated countless LGBTQ lives. She died peacefully in her home in New Jersey on Sept. 25, 2020, at age 88. Mollenkott shook the religious world with her...

Tyler Clementi: Gay teen driven to suicide by bullies

by Kittredge Cherry | | Saints, Sept 15-30

Tyler Clementi (1992-2010) brought international attention to bullying-related suicide of LGBTQ youth by jumping to his death on Sept. 22, 2010. Clementi’s highly publicized tragedy made him into a gay martyr whose untimely death put a public face on the problems of...

John McNeill: Pioneering gay priest who inspired LGBTQ people of faith

by Kittredge Cherry | | Saints, Sept 15-30

John McNeill was a pioneering gay priest, psychotherapist, author, theologian and Jesuit scholar who inspired countless LGBTQ people of faith and their allies. He died on Sept. 22, 2015 in a hospice in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, with his partner of 49 years, Charles...

Henri Nouwen: Priest and author who struggled with his homosexuality

by Kittredge Cherry | | Saints, Sept 15-30

Henri J. M. Nouwen was a Catholic priest and bestselling author who wrestled with his own homosexuality in an intolerant church. He died on Sept. 21, 1996. Nouwen (1932-1996) remains one of the most popular and influential modern spiritual writers. He wrote more than...

Hildegard of Bingen and Richardis: Medieval mystic and the woman she loved

by Kittredge Cherry | | Saints, Sept 15-30

Hildegard of Bingen was a medieval German mystic, poet, artist, composer, healer and scientist — and likely lesbian. She loved another nun named Richardis and wrote with ecstasy about the Virgin Mary. She celebrated God’s green web of life as “viriditas.” Her...