An diocesan hermit is coming out as a transgender person with the support of Bishop Stowe

Text by Robert Shine*, published on the Catholic Blog New Ways Ministry (United States) on May 20, 2024. Freely translated by the volunteers of the Gionata project

In what could be an unprecedented event in the history of the Catholic Church, an diocesan hermit has made no transgender coming out, with the full support of its diocesan bishop.

The desire for this hermit is to expand the possibilities of walking for Catholic people with non -compliant gender expressions within the Church.

On Pentecost Sunday (from 2024), Fratel Christian Matson publicly said he was a trans person. His bishop is Msgr. John Stowe, belonging to the Order of Conventual Friars Minor (Ofm Conv.), Bishop of the Diocese of Lexington, in the State of Kentucky (United States), known for his public support to LGBTQ+people.

According to what reported by Religion News Service (RNS):

"Matson, who is also Benedictine Oblato (or a secular person who lives according to Benedictine spirituality), believes he is the first person openly transgender to play such a role in the Catholic Church. It is difficult to verify this data - the same Bishop Stowe admitted that he cannot say it with certainty -, but Matson's condition remains extraordinary and arrives at a time when the Catholic hierarchy is increasingly compared with the theme of trans people. "

Matson, who is 39 years old today, explained that this "revelation" - as he himself defines it - is the result of a long journey. His is a testimony that reflects the often difficult path of Catholic trans people, especially of those who feel a vocation for religious life, such as brothers or nuns.

"I currently live in the Appalachi mountains, in the eastern part of Kentucky, " A Catholic hermit comes out as a transgender person with the support of Bishop Stowe

"I live in an hermitage on the top of a wooded hill, together with my dog ​​today, a German shepherd that I adopted, and the Blessed Sacrament, which was placed in my chapel just before Christmas."

Matson began his medical transition during university years, before officially entering the Catholic Church in 2010, when he began to discern his religious vocation. After obtaining the doctorate in theology, he began to explore different possibilities in religious life. However, the company of Jesus (the Jesuits) rejected him, as well as many other congregations, some of which have not even walked on to respond to his requests.

Matson then turned to a canonist (expert in canon law), who explained to him that, according to the rules of the Church, only two aspects of Catholic life were categorically precluded: marriage and the priesthood. The canonist also suggested that he is always transparent on his identity as a transgender man in any vocational interview.

However, he added that the choice to issue votes as a diocesan hermit could have avoided various obstacles. Matson summarizes the concept as follows: "There is no problem, as long as there is a bishop willing to accept you, because in this type of vocation there is no distinction of sex and you do not live in the community: you are alone."

In 2020, Matson, who at the time was engaged in a pastoral ministry dedicated to artists through a group he co-founded called Catholic Artist Connection (Catholic connection for artists), wrote to Msgr. Stowe to explore the possibility of becoming a hermit with religious votes.

Stowe replied immediately, showing himself open. "It was a huge relief, " Matson said. "I came to my eyes. He felt hope for the renissheus. "

Stowe confirmed Matson's story, explaining that he had been recommended to him by several people. "My availability towards him arises from the fact that it is a sincere person, who seeks a way to serve the Church, " The bishop said.

"The hermits are an unused form of religious life ... but they can be men or women. Since there is no intention of receiving priestly ordination or administering the sacraments, and considering that the hermit vocation is very silent and solitary, I have not seen any problems in allowing him to live this vocation. "

Original text: Vowed Hermit Comes Out As Transgender With Support of Bishop Stowe