In New York, there is controversy surrounding the funeral of Cecilia Gentili, 52 years old and icon of the LGBTQ+ community. The ceremony took place Thursday, February 15 in Saint-Patrick's Cathedral, a jewel of neo-Gothic architecture nestled among the skyscrapers of the Big Apple. Gentili's funeral, Rev. Enrique Salvo, pastor of St. Patrick's, said, should have involved only family and a few close acquaintances. However, about a thousand people showed up for the ceremony, including a few journalists from major American newspapers. A fact that did not really please Reverend Salvo: “Thank you to all the people, and there are many of them, who let us know that they share our indignation,” declared the priest of Saint-Patrick's Cathedral.
The outrage
What sparked the outrage was the imaginative clothing of the thousand or so guests who showed up to say their final goodbyes to “Santa Cecilia”, as the former trans community was renamed. Cecilia Gentili was born in Argentina in 1972 but has lived in New York for over twenty years. A former prostitute and actress, over the years she has become an icon of the transgender community. At her funeral, some fans showed up with a sign reading: “Santa Cecilia, madre de todas las putas.” In Italian: “Saint Cecilia, mother of all whores”. And it was precisely signs like this that aroused the anger of the priest of San Patrizio, as well as the clothes of those who showed up at church in miniskirts, fishnet stockings or with photos of Cecilia Gentili with a halo above the head.
Pastor
“The cathedral only knew that family and friends were requesting a funeral mass for a person of the Catholic faith – said priest Enrique Salvo – and it did not know that our prayer and welcome would be degraded in such a sacrilegious and deceptive way. path “. The priest announced that a “mass of reparation” would be celebrated.
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