Empty Chairs at the Jubilee for African Queer Catholics

Adelard Kananira, originally from Burundi and living in Italy for the past eight years, is the founder of Gay Christian Africa, a project for dialogue between LGBTQ+ experiences and faith across the African continent. Bondings 2.0’s Elisa Belotti spoke with him about the challenges faced by the African queer Catholics who couldn’t attend the LGBTQ+ Jubilee and the silence of the Church in countries that criminalize homosexuality.

First of all, tell us something about yourself. You are born in Burundi, live in Italy and have founded Gay Christian Africa. How did your commitment in this field come about? And what is the project about?

Adelard Kananira

I’m Burundian and I’ve been living in Italy for eight years. I founded Gay Christian Africa in 2019 to create space for the experiences and reflections of African LGBTQ+ Catholics and those of other denominations. The project seeks to foster dialogue between faith and LGBTQ+ community across different contexts of the African continent. One of the main goals is to ensure that sexual orientation and gender identity are not seen as obstacles to living one’s faith. This includes addressing LGBTQ+ people themselves and also their parents, so they can learn, through the Gospel, how to love and support their children. This includes also involving religious leaders who want to better understand LGBTQ+ lives in order to promote positive dialogue.

Growing up, I never had the chance to find spaces where I could live my faith without shame about my sexual orientation or without hearing dehumanizing and demonizing preaching. It has been a long journey to reclaim my faith without feeling less Catholic and less of a believer. I knew I was not alone in this struggle. A friend and I always dreamed of doing something about it. So I founded Gay Christian Africa six years ago, with the support of many people and the Italian association La Tenda di Gionata (Jonathan’s Tent).

You have followed the story of African LGBTQ+ Catholics who wanted to take part in the Jubilee but couldn’t leave their countries. What can you tell us about them? In which countries do they live?

Yes, I was in contact with about 20 African LGBTQ+ Catholics who were unable to leave their countries. They risk persecution every day for their sexual identity, and they were denied a lifetime occasion/opportunity to celebrate their faith and identity, a moment that would have meant the world to them: a sign of hope. Most of them are from West Africa, but for safety reasons I cannot share the names of their countries without their consent. It may seem like a small detail, but for them it could mean real danger.

I don’t know much more about them. I had never met them before discussing the Jubilee. When they heard about the Jubilee, they applied to be in Rome with all of us but sadly they could not come.

Empty chairs at the prayer service, with the message, in Italian and English: “Pilgrims prevented from participating because persecuted.”

At the Vigil prayer service and the Mass of the Jubilee, some empty chairs were placed in the church for those who could not be present out of fear or political reasons.  The chairs signified that many who were invited and desired, were once again excluded. How did the Italian embassies reply to their requests for  Jubilee visas?

The visas were denied. This may seem surprising for those who do not know the African situation and the complexity of mobility toward European countries. But it is actually very common. African countries face systemic injustices when it comes to mobility towards Europe. With an African passport, freedom of movement is highly restricted and visa denials are frequent.

Many people are refused visas even when the purpose is to attend Church events, to study or to work in European countries. This diplomatic imbalance may be hard to imagine for those with European or North American passports, who don’t face this struggle and can easily travel and work around the world, including Africa. But the reality of African countries is different.

In Africa there are 32 countries that officially criminalize homosexuality. Burkina Faso recently joined them. What does it mean for African LGBTQ+ Catholics?

First of all, it means the denial of dignity, freedom and even existence for queer people. As a Catholic, this has an even deeper meaning: the Church is failing to provide a place to exist or a refuge where you can seek authenticity and inner serenity. The silence of the Church in those countries is very loud. It communicates that LGBTQ+ people are considered less human and less worthy of dignity, and that therefore they deserve a legal punishment or even the death penalty. The local Churches do not condemn this criminalization. At the very least, they should speak against these punishments while also discerning how to accompany LGBTQ+ people in their own contexts, to listen to their voices and truly know their stories.

–Elisa Belotti, New Ways Ministry, September 22, 2025