Pride Month Reflections from LGBTQ+ Catholics, Part 3

Earlier this month, we posted an open call for submissions, asking LGBTQ+ Catholics around the world to offer their reflections on Pride Month as a Pilgrimage of Hope. We’ve been deeply moved by the responses we’ve received.  We began sharing some responses two weeks ago, and posted a second batch last week. Today we’re sharing four more.  We’ll be posting more in the days to come.

The testimonies from the following four Catholics come from the United States, Russia, and Canada.

Jennifer Van Boxel

Jennifer Van Boxel (she/her) is a lifelong asexual, panromantic Catholic who has been active in lectoring, greeting, catechesis, and outreach to the needy at Corpus Christi Catholic Church, Tucson, Arizona. She also co-facilitates a secular group for cis partners of trans people.

When my spouse and I came out to each other, I grappled with whether I could stay Catholic. But I am Catholic, just like I am asexual. The Church is the people, including me and my queer siblings. The Eucharist, which Jesus offered to everyone at the Last Supper, sustains me on my journey. I find hope in acceptance on the local level of the church, such as when a priest appointed me to the parish council, or when my wife was anointed prior to her gender-affirming surgery, or when we had our marriage blessed. My hope is further sustained by the witness of fellow queer Catholics. I was initially nervous sharing my queer side at church, but now I wear my rainbow pin when I minister and introduce my wife at potlucks. And I’m also open about my Catholicism with queer folks I meet. More Catholics need to know they are not alone in their LGBTQIA+ journey!

Victor Matrosov (he/him) is a 29-year-old Byzantine Catholic and LGBTQ+ ally.  He is from Saint Anne parish, Yekaterinburg, Russia

I am Byzantine Catholic from Russia and LGBTQ+ ally. What strengthens me to stay Catholic?  I strongly believe that God will never shame true love, will never forbid people to be themselves authentically. In Russia, the LGBTQ+ community struggles brutal state oppression. The local Catholic Church remains silent. So when the Conference of Bishops doesn’t help, allies are here to help queer people. If we leave, the Church will never change. And though we’re forced to be invisible allies, solidarity is still alive through personal connections, social networks, and prayers. Love is stronger than death, and God’s resurrection proves it. Love wins.

Samuel Percy-Smith

Samuel Percy-Smith (he/him) PHOTO is a cradle Catholic who just so happens to be gay. He is the co-chair of LEAD LGBT Ministry in Baltimore, Maryland

Earlier this year, it was difficult to see how 2025 was a Year of Hope even though I had a multitude of reasons to feel hopeful, not least that I was marrying the man of my dreams.

The lead up to our wedding, though, was bittersweet. We rushed to get married just in case the right to do so would soon lost. In a tiny, nondenominational chapel on January 16th, we said our last prayer before marriage. We wed and stepped into an uncertain future.

However, I am certain with hope because every day by my husband’s side is filled with laughter, joy, and prayer. Like a mustard seed, hope grows and takes root. There are many things to be uncertain about, but God’s presence in our gay marriage is certain. I am proud of who my husband is. As a queer Catholic, what sustains hope is this unconditional, unwavering love abounding.

John Montague

John Montague (he/him) PHOTO is an 80-year-old married queer Catholic who continues witnessing for inclusion.  He is a member of  Our Lady of Lourdes Parish, Toronto, Canada

My queer Catholic hope is sustained by the people who share love.  Since childhood I have known I was gay. In the 1950s and 1960s it was unthinkable to be myself.  As a Catholic I was part of a group that invited Father John MacNeill, SJ, sj to give retreats for gay Catholics in Toronto during the 1980s. Later in the 1980s I was part of a group that brought Father Bill McNichols, SJ, to Toronto for  a retreat. He showed us the Stations of the Cross he created for people with AIDS. I encouraged a friend Father Bob Doran, SJ, to start a monthly healing service at our parish. In 2002, I attended the New Ways Ministry Symposium in Louisville, Kentucky, where I learned how to facilitate a day of reflection for Catholic parents of LGBTQ children. With the support of the Canadian Jesuits I organised a parents retreat day in the Toronto archdiocese for seventeen years, until Covid put  the brakes on.  My married gay partner and I  are together 29 years this coming September when I turn eighty. I have much to be grateful  for. 

—Francis DeBernardo, New Ways Ministry, June 23, 2025