October brings the feast of Sergius and Bacchus, favorite saints in the LGBTQ community. They lead the way to a variety of other queer spiritual news and insights in this month's newsletter.

Saints Sergius and Bacchus were third-century Roman soldiers, Christian martyrs and men who loved each other. Their story is told at the Jesus in Love Blog in words and pictures for their feast day (Oct. 7).

 

The close bond between Sergius and Bacchus has been emphasized since the earliest accounts, and recent scholarship has revealed their homosexuality.

 

A classic example of paired saints, Sergius and Bacchus are most popular queer saints.  The Roman Catholic Church dropped them from its official calendar in 1969 -- the year of the Stonewall Rebellion. More info

(Above: "Saints Sergius and Bacchus" by Rick Herold. Warning: his home page has male nudity)

(Right: Saints Sergius and Bacchus from their monastery in Maaloula, Syria)

Saint Francis of Assisi is "a uniquely gender-bending historic figure" according to Franciscan scholar Kevin Elphick.

He continued his research into the queer side of Saint Francis this year with a trip to Assisi, where he photographed images of the man who may have been the saint's beloved soulmate.

Overview: Francis of Assisi's queer side 

Details: Brother Elias: Same-sex soulmate to a saint?
 

(Credit: Francis and the man he loved in "They shelter in a cave" by Jos� Benlliure y Gil, 1926) 

Hildegard of Bingen was a brilliant medieval German mystic, poet, artist, composer, healer and scientist who wrote with passion about the Virgin Mary. Some say she was a lesbian because of her strong attachment to women, especially her personal assistant Richardis von Stade. More info

(Credit: "St. Hildegard of Bingen and Her Assistant Richardis" by Lewis Williams, TrinityStores.com)

 

Henri Nouwen was a Catholic priest and bestselling author who wrestled with his homosexuality. Nouwen never discussed his gay sexual orientation in his 40 books, but he confided his conflict over it in private journals and conversations. Some say that this personal struggle added depth to his books such as "The Wounded Healer." More info 

 

(Credit: "Henri Nouwen" by Robert Lentz, trinitystores.com)

 

Rumi is a 13th-century Persian poet and Sufi mystic whose love for another man inspired some of the world's best poems and led to the creation of a new religious order, the whirling dervishes. It is well known that his poems were based on his love for another man, but the queer possibilities are rarely discussed. More info 

 

(Credit: Rumi and Shams from "Dervish Whirl, RumiOnFire.com)

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Santos Queer presenta en las fechas adecuadas durante todo el a�o tanto santas y santos como m�rtires, h�roes, heroinas y personas consagradas de especial inter�s para las personas  lesbianas, gays, bisexuales y transexuales (LGBT) y sus aliados.

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