Queer Refugees’ Stories Are Told Through the Way of the Cross

During Lent this year, Catholic churches in Austria hosted a queer Way of the Cross project, drawing connections between the Passion of Christ and the contemporary experience of queer refugees, reported Katholisch.at, the news service of the Austrian bishops’ conference.. 

Acrobatic performers during the Way of the Cross which highlighted the plight of queer refugees.

The Stations of the Cross, a prominent devotion during Lent, are often a time for the faithful to recognize the solidarity of Christ within various forms of human suffering– and to recognize within Christ’s own suffering the way that we are called to be present for our neighbors. Catholics in Austria recently explored those insights with a queer perspective through the ecumenical project “Fluchtweg” (Escape Route), developed by Catholic Youth Upper Austria, an organization in the Diocese of Linz which their website describes as “an idea factory, advisor and knowledge provider. . . [We]stand for Christian faith and social commitment, are a lobby for young people and stand for responsibility and sustainability.” 

Escape Route presented the story of Jesus’s suffering through the lens of the experiences of queer individuals who have been forced to flee their home countries because of their religious, sexual, or gender identity. 

“Queer people do not flee for the sake of self-realization, but out of fear,” said project leader Anson Samuel. “Their courage, their vulnerability, and their hope meet us beneath the Cross—the very place where every human experience has a place.”

The Way of the Cross events took place in three Catholic parishes in Vienna, Linz, and Graz in early March, inviting people of all faiths, sexual orientations, and ages for reflection and community-building. Participants were invited to not simply be spectators but rather to actively engage with the event. For example, in Vienna and Linz, participants wrote encouraging messages on tea bag tags to exchange with one another, and at the conclusion of the event, hot tea was served to encourage connection and conversation. 

The content of the Way of the Cross was presented as  fictional telephone conversations inspired by interviews with queer refugees. These conversations were interwoven with performative scenes, aerial acrobatics, music, and moments of reflection. 

According to Katholisch.at, each element of the presentation was carefully chosen: the blended medium allowed the messages to transcend linguistic and cultural barriers, and the physical movement of the body provided an opportunity for expression where words might fail. 

The combination of each unique aspect of the presentation spoke to the project’s goal: “to render visible experiences of exclusion, violence, and hope, and to foster social awareness.”

“The stories told are incredibly poignant—they take your breath away; words fail to describe the impact they have on you,” said Hannelore Mayer, a pastoral assistant at Young Church Vienna who specializes in Rainbow Ministry. 

This project was created in collaboration with individuals from several dioceses and denominations, including the Dioceses of Linz, Graz-Seckau, and Innsbruck, the Archdiocese of Vienna, and the Evangelical Church of Vienna. 

Such an example of ecumenical cooperation, especially for the sake of tying queer refugee experiences to the life of Christ, speaks volumes. As queer theologian and project contributor Katharina Payk notes, “When we, as Christians, live out (queer) diversity together, the Church becomes a place that transcends boundaries”

—Phoebe Carstens, New Ways Ministry, May 2, 2026