A group of transgender people will be among the roughly 40 individuals selected by the Vatican to offer a final send off to Pope Francis before he is interred in the Basilica Santa Maria Maggiore on Saturday.
According to Vatican News, the group will stand on the steps of the basilica, each holding a white rose, to pay homage to the late pope. In addition to representatives from the transgender community, the group will include migrants, prisoners and others representing communities close to the pope’s heart.
Bishop Benoni Ambarus, an auxiliary bishop of Rome, said that the decision to include this group of people in the pope’s send off is symbolic of his concern for the most marginalized.
“It seems to me a moving choice, because the Holy Father Francis is welcomed by the Mother he loved so much,” Bishop Ambarus said, referring to the church that honors Mary where the pope chose to be buried, according to a translation of the Vatican News story, “and by his favorite children, who will surround him in these last steps. It seems to me a truly beautiful thing.”
Though Francis spoke out regularly against what he called “gender ideology,” he met regularly with transgender people at the Vatican. Last fall, a group of four transgender women from the United States had an opportunity to greet Francis during his general audience, and the pope regularly met with a group of other transgender women who faced difficulties during the pandemic.
Bishop Ambarus said the group of transgender people are associated with a small community of Catholic sisters who minister to them.
Last year, Bishop Ambarus, an immigrant to Italy from Romania, stood next to Francis as the pope opened a holy door at a Roman prison to commemorate the Jubilee Year.
