A funeral service was reportedly held Thursday at a Catholic cathedral in New York City for a transgender activist who passed away by the name of Cecilia Gentili.
Gentili's funeral is believed to be the first for an openly transgender person to be held at St. Patrick's Cathedral, funeral organizers said. according to on time.
Hundreds of mourners attended the service honoring Gentili, who described herself as a woman. The newspaper said some guests arrived in unusual outfits, including crocheted crop tops, while others had hearts drawn on their cheeks. Some reportedly wore thongs and fishnet stockings.
Yesterday, the funeral of Cecilia Gentili, a transgender and atheist prostitute, was held at St. Patrick's Cathedral. The funeral was attended by hundreds of transgender activists wearing thongs, fishnet stockings, halter tops, and furs. They mocked St. Cecilia, saying, “You whore…” and celebrating her dead whore. pic.twitter.com/qMeUA0rfhK
— Mary Margaret Olohan (@MaryMargOlohan) February 16, 2024
Oscar Diaz, who said Gentili was her mother even though they were not genetically related, said the pearls and tulle she wore at her funeral were the best way to commemorate the transgender activist's “incredible” achievements, the paper said. He said that this is the method.
“We felt it was appropriate to send her off to give her the title of saint,” Diaz said.
Gentili was memorialized by actor Billy Porter, who sang the song “This Day,” Time reported. Father Edward Douglas conducted the service and is said to have said, “Cecilia died with Christ.''
According to the newspaper, Gentili entered the United States as an illegal immigrant from Argentina in 2004 and developed drug addiction as a sex worker. The transgender activist was reportedly granted asylum eight years later. (Related: Report: Trans Muslim who strangled baby charges prison chaplain for refusing to wear hijab)
Gentili is active in New York politics and reportedly lobbied for transgender advocacy legislation at the state level. LGBT advocates were working on two bills, one on transgender loitering and one on human trafficking victims, Time reported. Gentili was also reportedly a plaintiff in a 2020 lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services over gender reassignment medical care.
