For three days, a group of LGBTQ Catholics, clergy, religious, family members and others walked through New York City as pilgrims, tracing a history marked by suffering, ministry, exclusion and perseverance.
Organized by Outreach, the Catholic LGBTQ ministry founded by Jesuit Fr. James Martin, the Sept. 25-27 pilgrimage drew on the structure of the Easter triduum to reflect on the experience of LGBTQ Catholics in New York, with particular attention to the history of the HIV/AIDS crisis and the Catholic response to it.
The weekend began Friday with a welcome Mass, followed by a talk from Martin on the meaning of pilgrimage. On Saturday, participants gathered at the Church of St. Francis Xavier for a reflection on “Good Friday: The church in mourning,” before walking a “Camino of LGBTQ sites” that included St. Veronica’s Church with the Missionaries of Charity’s center, the New York City AIDS Memorial at the former site of St. Vincent’s Hospital and the historic Stonewall Inn.
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