Saint Marsha P. Johnson

Martyr

Marsha P. Johnson is one of the founding members of the Queer Rights Movement. Without her work, we would not have what we have gained.

She deserves no less than the Universal sainthood patronage: to be the saint all can look to and admire.

Tseng chose to adorn her portrait with flowers, similar to the ones she frequently wore in her life. For this reason, she is the patron saint of florists. This is something we can all hope to get one day: our own flower halos, blooming with queer joy and pride.

Hail Marsha, full of grace!

Her entry on Tseng's website

Saint Sylvia Rivera

Sylvia Rivera is best known for her passionate speeches, full of righteous anger and pointed criticism at the anti-queer establishment. For this reason, she is the patron saint of public speakers.

She, along with Marsha P. Johnson, helped the homeless and impoverished queer population of New York City. Tseng chose to portray her with star flowers as a reference to the organization they founded - S.T.A.R., and to show the softer and gentler side to Rivera rarely seen by the cameras. For this reason, she is also the patron saint of community service.

Her entry on Tseng's website

Saint Audre Lorde

Audre Lorde wrote a wide breadth of work, a majority of it poetry. Her works speak of her experiences as "Black, mother, lesbian, warrior, poet." For this reason, she is the patron saint of poets and authors.

Lorde worked as a librarian from the late 1950s to 1968. For this reason, she is the patron saint of librarians.

For eight years, Lorde was married to Edwin Rollins, a gay man - both married for the safety of straight presentation: a "lavender marriage", a term for such a situation. For this reason, Lorde is the patron saint of lavender marriages.

Her entry on Tseng's website

Saint Crystal LaBeija

Crystal LaBeija is credited with starting the first ever drag house: the House of LaBeija. This kicked off the practice in the ballroom scene as a whole. For this reason, she is the patron saint of drag mothers.

Her impassioned speech demanding fair treatment at the 1967 Miss All-America Camp Beauty Pageant, documented in the 1968 film The Queen, is the reason she is the patron saint of pageant contestants and the one invoked for fair judgement.

Her entry on Tseng's website

Saint Larry Kramer

Larry Kramer was a playwright and screenwriter known for the stage plays The Normal Heart and The Destiny of Me, and the films Women in Love and Lost Horizon. For this reason, he is the patron of playwrights and screenwriters.

Kramer also helped create ACT UP, an AIDS awareness and direct action organization that changed American medicine forever through protest, presence, and volume. For this reason, he is the patron of AIDS activism and activists.

His entry on Tseng's website

Saint Reverend Pauli Murray

Rev. Pauli Murray was the first woman to be ordained as a priest by the Episcopal church, honored to this day in the organization for her contributions and dedication to reconciliation. For this reason, she is the patron saint of priests and the one invoked for reconciliation.

Murray was also a civil rights lawyer specializing in Black and women's rights. Her book States' Laws on Race and Color was foundational to the NAACP, and she was brought on to the Kennedy administration for her expertise. For this reason, she is the patron saint of lawyers.

Her entry on Tseng's website

Saint Leslie Cheung

Leslie Cheung was a massively productive musician, producing over 40 albums in his lifetime. For this reason, he is the patron saint of singers.

Cheung starred in 56 films throughout his life, including Farewell My Concubine and Happy Together. For this reason, he is the patron saint of actors.

Cheung was diagnosed with depression, which ultimately led to his death. For this reason, he is the patron saint to invoke against depression.

His entry on Tseng's website

Saint Robert Mapplethorpe

AIDS Martyr

Robert Mapplethorpe was a photographer best known for his erotic nudes of BDSM and leather scenes. His images were the subject of intense debate and backlash by the conservative party in the late 1980s - ironically, just after he had died. For this reason, he is the patron saint of photographers, and the patron invoked against posthumous defamation.

His entry on Tseng's website

Saint June Jordan

June Jordan was an author that actively used and respected AAVE (African American Vernacular English) in her work. She also critiqued the idea of "standard" English, pointing out that Black vernaculars have been historically excluded from teaching and preservation. She defined the three qualities of Black English: "presence of life, voice, and clarity".

For this reason, she is the patron saint of linguists, language preservation, language learners, and polyglots.

Her entry on Tseng's website

Saint Edie Windsor

Edie Windsor was a technology manager at IBM from 1958 to 1975. She used her expertise in computer technology to help many queer organizations set up their first email systems. For this reason, she is the patron saint of computer programmers. (Bless this page, Saint Windsor!)

Windsor was also the defendant in the landmark U.S. Supreme Court case United States vs. Windsor, which overturned Section 3 of the intensely homophobic Defense of Marriage Act, which made the federal government recognize queer marriages even if state governments do not. It was this case that eventually led to Obergefell vs. Hodges, the case that legalized same-sex marriage across the nation. For this reason, she is the patron saint of defendants.

Her entry on Tseng's website

Saint Osh-Tisch

Osh-Tisch was part of the Crow people, and a badé. She received her name after shooting a Lakota warrior at the Battle of the Rosebud in 1876. She also saved Bull Snake, riding in on her horse to rescue him when he fell from his horse while wounded. For this reason, she is the patron saint of sharpshooters, equestrians, and the one invoked for accuracy.

Osh-Tisch was among the many badés forced by Agent Briskow to adopt masculine presentation. The badés were valued among the Crow, and this disrespect against them led to Briskow being dismissed. For this reason, she is the patron saint of conversion therapy victims.

Her entry on Tseng's website

Saint Mark Carson

Martyr

Mark Carson was known for rebuking homophobic comments and being himself without fear. He came up with the phrase 'Pay it and pump', a metaphor meaning 'pay it no mind and keep moving', which he used against those that would heckle him. He would also only give his first name, never shaking in his defiance of those who seeked to pry into his life. For this reason, he is the patron saint of pacifists, pacifism, and the one invoked for confidence.

His entry on Tseng's website

Saint Riah Milton

Martyr

Riah Milton was a home health aide described as an outgoing and helpful person. For this reason, she is the patron saint of caregivers and hospice workers.

She was described by her friends and family as loving the outdoors and traveling. For this reason, she is the patron saint of travelers and outdoor enthusiasts.

Her entry on Tseng's website

Saint Gertrude Stein

Gertrude Stein was a novelist, playwright, poet, and art collector. She held a salon in Paris where she met artists like Picasso, Matisse, Hemingway, and Fitzgerald. Because of her connection to the arts, she is the patron saint of art collectors, museums and museum workers, and art curators.

Stein coined some iconic philosophical phrases, including "a rose is a rose is a rose", and "there is no there there". She was also able to maneuver through Nazi-occupied France and survive through her words and connections. For this reason, she is the patron of philosophers and debaters.

Her entry on Tseng's website

Saint Terrence McNally

Terrence McNally was an accomplished playwright and dramatist, writing over fifty stage performances, including opera, musicals, and one-act dramas. His subjects spanned from the avant-garde to the mainstream, and he took home several awards for his body of work. He also served as the vice president of the Dramatists Guild. For this reason, he is the patron saint of opera and dramatists.

For his several awards and accomplishments, and his large body of work, he is the patron saint to invoke for a long and successful career.

His entry on Tseng's website

Saint Betty Dodson

Betty Dodson was a sex educator, erotic art exhibitor, and workshop organizer known for her contributions to the sex-positive feminist movement. She created workshops that taught women how to masturbate, wrote instructional guides for women's sexuality, and published the Ms. magazine column Sex for One. Through her workshops, thousands of women learned to orgasm, often for the first time.

For all her contributions to sex-positive feminism, she is the patron saint of sex educators and sex-positive feminism.

Her entry on Tseng's website

Saint Aimee Stephens

Aimee Stephens was a funeral director and defendant against the United States Supreme Court. Her historic victory in R.G. & G.R. Harris Funeral Homes Inc. v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission affirmed that the 1964 Civil Rights Act did, in fact, protect queer people from discrimination based on sex. This ruling has protected transgender people in the workplace since 2020, allowing all to dress however they choose to present regardless of their assigned sex at birth.

For this reason, she is the patron saint of funeral directors and all queer people of the working class. (Bless this webmaster, Saint Stephens!)

Her entry on Tseng's website

Saint Dominique Fells

Martyr

Dominique Fells was a trans woman that was murdered in 2020. Her murderer was found in Los Angeles, extradited to Pennsylvania, and sentenced to a minimum of 20 years for her murder.

For this reason, she is the patron saint of justice.

Her entry on Tseng's website

Saint Melvin Dixon

AIDS Martyr

Melvin Dixon was a scholar, novelist, professor, and poet, who won the Ferro-Grumley award in 1992 for his novel Vanishing Rooms. He authored the textbook Ride Out the Wilderness, an analysis of imagery of the wilderness in Black art, language, and culture.

For this reason, he is the patron saint of teachers.

His entry on Tseng's website

Saint William Dorsey Swann

William Dorsey Swann coined the term "queen of drag" in the late 1800s. A former slave, Swann organized drag balls and meetings between formerly enslaved people, creating the first drag house, the "House of Swann". The dances performed at these balls became the inspiration for voguing. He was arrested multiple times and requested pardon from Presdent Cleveland, and while unsuccessful, he was the first to pursue legal action to defend our right to gather.

For these reasons, he is the patron saint of drag - the entire art form, in all its permutations, for without his contributions it would not exist at all. He is also the patron saint of ex-convicts and organizers.

His entry on Tseng's website

Saint Stormé DeLarverie

Stormé DeLarverie is a key figure to our history - she is the one who threw the first punch at the Stonewall Uprising, sparking the evening's events and the following days of action. Her words, "Why don't you guys do something?", began the uprising that became the bedrock of our freedom. For this, she is the patron saint to invoke for bravery.

In her life, DeLarverie was a bouncer and bodyguard, an entertainer, and master of ceremonies. For these reasons, she is the patron saint of bouncers, bodyguards, and masters of ceremonies.

Her entry on Tseng's website

Saint Harry Koutoukas

Harry Koutoukas was a playwright, actor, and teacher known for working with the Off-Off-Broadway movement. Unfortunately, much of his life is currently unknown and not well-preserved. His plays were absurdist and campy, often made quickly and on low budgets. These plays helped establish queer performance in low-budget and local establishments - your local gay bar's karaoke and drag nights have Saint Koutoukas to thank!

For these reasons, he is the patron saint of amateur theater.

His entry on Tseng's website

Saint Stephen Sondheim

Stephen Sondheim was a composer and lyricist, and one of the most important people in the history of musical theater. He is the author of classic musicals including West Side Story, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Sweeney Todd, and Into the Woods.

Sondheim won over 40 awards in his life for his work, and was nominated for 75 more. His accolades include Grammys, Oscars, Tonys, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

For this reason, Sondheim is the patron saint of musicals and musical theater - everything from the actors to the sound team is under his protection.

His entry on Tseng's website

Saint bell hooks

bell hooks was an author, professor, theorist, and social critic known for her work regarding race, gender, capitalism, and the ability of all three to create oppression and class domination. Her work received a resurgence in popularity in 2020 during the George Floyd protests. For this reason, she is the patron saint of intersectionality and academic work.

Tseng chose the state flower of Kentucky, the goldenrod, to be part of hooks's halo. hooks wrote about her lived experience in Kentucky often, her home state. For this reason, she is the patron saint of Kentucky.

Her entry on Tseng's website

Saint John Jennison

John Jennison was a friend of Tseng's known for being one of the founders of Flame Con, NYC's first queer comic convention. He was proud of his community and honored to be a part of it. Jennison also created the Mystical Male Tarot Deck, a major arcana deck that focused on male figures in all 21 positions, with varying body types. Tseng gave him a halo of flame lilies to honor his connection to Flame Con, and "the fire of inspiration he stoked in himself and others".

Unlike the other saints on this list, Tseng gave Jennison patronages: creation, optimism, and broken gates.

His entry on Tseng's website

Hail Marsha

The Helpers: Prayers for Invocation

Saint Osh-Tisch, for Accuracy

Saint DeLarverie, for Bravery

Saint Carson, for Confidence

Saint Cheung, for Depression

Saint LaBeija, for Fair Judgement

Saint McNally, for A Long and Successful Career

Saint Mapplethorpe, for Posthumous Defamation

Saint Murray, for Reconciliation

The Workplace Prayers

Musical Theater

More prayers coming soon...