A group of individuals held a ceremony to ordain a transgender individual, Loan Rocher, and biological women into the Catholic church in defiance of the church’s ban against women and LGBTQ+ individuals from positions of leadership. The group met for the service on the Tiber River in Rome, within the very shadow of the Vatican. Rocher spoke defiantly against the Church’s ban on women and LGBTQ+ priests and deacons. “They’ve been repeating the same message for 2,000 years — women are inferior, subordinate, invisible,” he said. “It’s okay. We’ve waited long enough, so I’m doing it now.” The ceremony mirrored an official mass with Bible readings and Communion. Around 50 people from various countries attended the service where Rocher, along with 5 other individuals including another transgender person, were ordained as either priests or deacons. The individuals ordained were Rocher from France, Belen Repiso Carrillo from Spain, Anne La Tour and Mary Katherine Daniels from the United States, and Maria Teresa Ribeiro Rosa and Txus Garcia Pascual from Spain.

Bridget Mary Meehan, a “bishop” in charge of the group that organized the event, has overseen the ordination of 270 individuals excluded from leadership positions since 2002. “For 22 years, we have worked hard to create a more inclusive, loving church where LGBTQ, divorced and remarried (people) — everyone — is welcome at the table. No-one is excluded,” she said. The ceremony was held as the Catholic Church concludes a summit that focuses on the future of the church. The Synod has been an ongoing event since 2021 and was meant to include a proposal in 2023 that would admit women as deacons in the church. However, that proposal was ruled out, and Pope Francis has been very staunch in stating that women will not be allowed to serve as priests and deacons in the church. This is despite his effluviant praise of women serving in the church in smaller capacities. “They overpraise our qualities. They make women practically into goddesses… and they tell them ‘You’re serving. It’s the most beautiful vocation. In fact, it’s a strategy to sideline and discriminate,” said Adeline Fermanian a member of the French feminist group, Comite de la Jupe. Those involved in the ceremony are adamant for pushing for change in the future. “The hierarchy is afraid, but the people are not,” said Meehan, “And they love women priests.”