Last Updated on January 6, 2024 by Kittredge Cherry
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 Chiarelli, at his bedside. He was 90.
The National Catholic Reporter called him a “patron saint of LGBT Catholics” in the headline for his obituary.
McNeill began ministering to LGBTQ Catholics in the 1970s, helping give birth to the DignityUSA national organization. He wrote the groundbreaking 1976 book “The Church and the Homosexual
John McNeill could not be silenced
He went on to write more books on LGBTQ spirituality, including “Taking A Chance on God
Conflicts between McNeill and the Vatican spanned decades, including a 2011 trip to Rome where he delivered a letter addressed to Pope Benedict XVI asking the church to condemn violence against LGBTQ people.
So it seems like no coincidence that McNeill died on the same day that Pope Francis arrived on his first visit to the United States. The timing of his death spared McNeill the pain of seeing the US media glorify the Pope while he slighted the suffering and needs of LGBTQ people. In another sense, McNeill’s timely death passed the baton for the Pope to carry the holy effort to bring love and justice for all.
McNeill was born Sept. 2, 1925, in Buffalo, New York. A World War II veteran, he earned a Ph.D in philosophy in 1964 from Louvain University in Belgium. He taught at various colleges, universities and seminaries before beginning his private psychotherapy practice.
His life story is told in 2012 film “Taking A Chance on God.” It was directed by Brendan Fay, who co-produced “Saint of 9/11” about Mychal Judge. A trailer is online at YouTube.
John McNeill rememebered in art and music
McNeill has a halo with the rainbow colors of the LGBTQ community in a 2020 portrait by North Carolina artist Jeremy Whitner. It appears at the top of this post. Whitner is a gay Christian mystic in process for ministry with the Disciples of Christ.
A hymn text to honor McNeill’s memory was written by Edward Moran. Titled “God Loves Us in Mysterious Ways,” the hymn appears in the Hymn Society’s “Songs for the Holy Other” and in Moran’s tribute to McNeill at Ambiente.us. “The third stanza references his book on LGBTQ theology ‘Taking a Chance on God,’ and also his final words to Brendan Fay: ‘Open the door,’” Moran explained there. The third verse goes like this:
We take a chance on God, and fall
To higher depths of love;
In faith and flesh we heed God’s call
To open doors above.
Moran is a poet, journalist, and literary scholar who has worked for the Betsy-South Beach and PG Family Foundation.
John McNeill: My colleague and friend
I first met McNeill in 1987, soon after he ended his silence. He came to preach at Metropolitan Community Church of San Francisco, where I was serving on the clergy staff. He filled the church with a large and adoring crowd. Yet when I had the chance to greet him personally he seemed grounded and ready to focus his warmth on each individual interaction. I was impressed by his powerful-yet-gentle presence and the intellectual force behind his liberating theology.
McNeill became a colleague, inspiration and friend who supported virtually all my book projects for the rest of this life. He spent hours on the phone providing me with background material for my coming-out guide “Hide and Speak,” and eagerly wrote endorsements for my other books.
May John McNeill join Christ and all the saints in heaven who provide a continual source of inspiration and assistance for LGBTQ people of faith!
Links related to John McNeill
John McNeill, Priest Who Pushed Catholic Church to Welcome Gays, Dies at 90 (New York Times)
John J. McNeill Memorial page on Facebook
John McNeill at Findagrave.com
Previous posts about John McNeill
Gay priest McNeill shakes up Rome with new moves and new movie
Update: Gay priest McNeill’s premiere succeeds despite rain in Rome at EuroPride
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Top image credit:
“John McNeill” by Jeremy Steven Whitner
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This post is part of the LGBTQ Saints series by Kittredge Cherry. Traditional and alternative saints, people in the Bible, LGBTQ martyrs, authors, theologians, religious leaders, artists, deities and other figures of special interest to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender and queer (LGBTQ) people and our allies are covered.
Editor’s note: This article was originally published on Q Spirit in September 2017, was expanded with new material over time, and was most recently updated on Sept 21, 2023.
Copyright © Kittredge Cherry. All rights reserved.
Qspirit.net presents the Jesus in Love Blog on LGBTQ spirituality.
On Octo4, 2022, here I am looking at 1 St Francis and his life and how his “special friend” was erased from history; then Fr John McNeill who had a partner that also was erased from history and finally Fr Mycal Judge…..he just loved “everybody” I was blessed by knowing him, he would “gently ” request myself & a friend to empty our pockets of loose change then promptly give it to some homeless man nearby.
Anybody prepared to lay odds that John McNeill will have his cause for beatification and eventual sainthood opened by the Holy See in years to come?
Fr. John McNeill presented a talk about his first book in tiny Manchester, CT where I lived to a standing room only audience very early in the book tour. I never forgot the impact it had and I attended many other of his presentations for Dignity throughout the USA. A prophet, a pioneer and a light in the darkness. A Light that will never be extinguished.
Thank you for sharing your personal experience with Fr. John McNeill, as you say, “a Light that will never be extinguished.”