St. Patrick’s Cathedral is condemning the funeral of notable trans activist Cecilia Gentili, who died on Feb. 6 at 52 years old – after initially allowing the service to take place on their property.
Rector Enrique Salvo, on behalf of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York, issued a statement via St. Patrick’s Cathedral’s X (formerly known as Twitter) page calling the funeral “scandalous behavior.”
“The Cathedral only knew that family and friends were requesting a funeral Mass for a Catholic,” he added, noting that religious officials “had no idea our welcome and prayer would be degraded in such a sacrilegious and deceptive way.”
Salvo’s statement continued by saying, “That such a scandal occurred at ‘America’s Parish Church’ makes it worse; that it took place as Lent was beginning, the annual forty-day struggle with the forces of sin and darkness, is a potent reminder of how much we need prayer, reparation, repentance, grace and mercy to which this holy season invites us.”
Billy Porter sings at the funeral of transgender community activist Cecilia Gentili at St. Patrick’s Cathedral on Feb. 15, 2024 in New York City.
To conclude the message, the rector announced “an appropriate Mass of Reparation” in response, which he says was suggested by Cardinal Timothy Dolan, who precedes over the American arm of the Catholic Church.
New York Archdiocese spokesman Joseph Zwilling clarified that Salvo’s statement focused on “the behavior of some of those in attendance at the funeral — including comments like ‘the mother of all whores’ or changing the words of the ‘Ave Maria,’ a sacred hymn, to ‘Ave Cecilia’ to cite just two examples,” per The Washington Post.
PEOPLE reached out to the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York for additional comments, but they did not immediately respond.
Other religious figures condemned Gentili’s funeral on social media as well. Father Nicholas Gregoris posted on X calling the service a “blasphemous & sacrilegious fiasco,” adding that hosting it at St. Patrick’s was, to him, “a deplorable desecration of America’s most famous Catholic Church.”
Funeral organizer Ceyenne Doroshow claimed to The Washington Post that the cathedral never asked to clarify Gentili’s gender identity or sexuality ahead of the funeral. Doroshow also stated that it was an “unprecedented funeral for an unprecedented icon” in response to the gripes about attendees’ behavior raised by Zwilling and others.
Gentili’s funeral at St. Patrick’s Cathedral was attended by roughly 1,000 people, according to CNN. Organizers told the publication that they believe Gentili’s memorial was the first to honor a trans person in the cathedral’s history. Other notable LGBTQ+ community icons, such as Billy Porter, were also in attendance at the service.
Gentili is famous for both her activism within the trans community as well as her role on the TV show Pose. News of her passing was announced in a post on her Instagram page. “Our beloved Cecilia Gentili passed away this morning to continue watching over us in spirit,” the post’s caption said, asking followers “for privacy, time and space to grieve.”
GLAAD, a non-profit LGBTQ+ advocacy group, honored Gentili with their own Instagram statement, calling the late star “a pillar in the trans community.”
“Cecilia just celebrated her 52nd birthday, surrounded by friends, loved ones, and community,” the organization added, referring to Gentili’s Jan. 31st birthday, which happened less than a week before her death.
