Between faith and identity. Father Bryan Massingale, a black, gay Catholic priest

Text by father James Martin*, published on the magazine's website America Magazine (United States) on February 24, 2026. Freely translated by Gionata Project volunteers.

I have always admired Father Bryan Massingale, a Catholic theologian at Fordham University.

A few years ago, during the Ignatian Family Teach-In for Justice, he gave one of the best lectures I have ever heard, on any topic. He was talking about racism in the Catholic church. Bryan has the ability to draw attention to problematic issues in the church in a way that is both provocative and impossible to ignore. He is truly a great asset to our church.

There is also another reason why i admire him. Bryan is a black catholic priest in a Country where, proportionately, there are few black men in the Priesthood. and even rarer is the fact that Bryan is also an openly gay man.

Before we go any further, it's worth clarifying what this means: Bryan is a celibate gay man who is a Catholic priest. In some more critical circles there is a tendency to think that when we talk about a "gay priest" we are talking about someone who is sexually active. This is not the case. This is why he himself jokes that he is a sort of "unicorn". Or, as they once said, a Rara Avis.

But, as Bryan told me in our intense conversation for “The Spiritual Life” podcast, he experiences these dimensions of his identity as integrated parts of a single reality. And after all, if we think about it, aren't we all a bit "unicorns" in this sense?

Each of us carries within us a unique combination of family history, sexual orientation, emotional sensitivity, along with our own gifts and blessings, but also the challenges and hardships of life. Everyone is unique. That said, Bryan still remains a rare priest these days.

Precisely this unique experience has helped him become a voice for those marginalized, excluded or ignored, both in the church and in wider society.

Speaking of racism, he recounts a shocking episode: once he was rejected in his own church just as he was about to celebrate mass. A parishioner wanted to know why he wasn't a "normal" priest, that is, white.

Bryan points out, as he had already explained in the lecture I had listened to, that in the Catholic church in the United States “whiteness” is often considered the norm, while other races, cultures or ethnic identities are perceived as something external to the church's own identity.

His experiences affected me deeply, even though I have known him for a long time. But, as he himself calmly observes, they should not surprise us: a lot of racism still exists in the Catholic church.

For example, Ralph McCloud led the Catholic Campaign for Human Development, the anti-poverty program of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, for sixteen years.

Once, during a business trip, McCloud found himself in a city he didn't know. It was Sunday and, from the hotel, he looked for the list of local churches to understand where to attend mass. He entered a church full of white Catholics.

As soon as he crossed the door, a priest approached him and said: «Excuse me. You know this is a Catholic church, right?”

“Yes,” Ralph replied. «I know this is a Catholic church. And do you know it?"

I am grateful to my friend Bryan Massingale for his integrity, willingness to be a “unicorn,” and for helping us turn our gaze to those in the church who find themselves on the margins, including our Black sisters and brothers and LGBTQ+ people.

We need him, and I was really happy to be able to talk to him this week.

* Father James Martin is an American Jesuit priest, author and editor at America Magazine. He is also the founder of Outreach, a pastoral network that promotes dialogue between the Catholic Church and LGBTQ+ people.

Original text: Father Bryan Massingale on faith and identity as a Black, gay, Catholic priest