Our Origins
In a sense our ministry can trace its roots back, indirectly, to a tragic event in London. On 30th April 1999 the Admiral Duncan gay pub in Soho was the scene of a nail bomb explosion which killed and wounded several people. It was the third bomb planted in a one-man terrorist campaign by a Neo-Nazi who wanted to stir up ethnic and homophobic tensions.
This tragedy prompted a number of LGBT+ Catholic-Christians to come together for prayer and spiritual support. This developed into a regular celebration of Mass in Soho, which gradually became an official ministry of the Archdiocese of Westminster known as LGBT Catholics Westminster.
The Soho Masses were the first such in Britain, and attracted worshippers from across the country, including Yorkshire. Some of the priests and laity who attended the Soho Masses, along with members of organisations such as Quest and the ecumenical Gay Christian Movement (now One Body One Faith) hoped that such pastoral outreach to the LGBT+ community could be established elsewhere. Increasingly clergy were hearing stories of exclusion from LGBT+ Catholics and their families, and calls for a change of attitudes within Church and Society.
After much prayer, discussion, and discernment with priests and people, Bishop Terence (Terry) Drainey decided that a ministry of outreach to the LGBT+ community should be established in Middlesbrough Diocese. Thus the first such diocesan ministry in Britain, outside of London, began with the first of our Masses celebrated in the Bar Convent on Sunday 10th December 2017.
Since then we have met monthly for prayer, social time, and solidarity.
We are delighted that since our ministry was established there have been new LGBT+ ministries and celebrations in other English dioceses.
This tragedy prompted a number of LGBT+ Catholic-Christians to come together for prayer and spiritual support. This developed into a regular celebration of Mass in Soho, which gradually became an official ministry of the Archdiocese of Westminster known as LGBT Catholics Westminster.
The Soho Masses were the first such in Britain, and attracted worshippers from across the country, including Yorkshire. Some of the priests and laity who attended the Soho Masses, along with members of organisations such as Quest and the ecumenical Gay Christian Movement (now One Body One Faith) hoped that such pastoral outreach to the LGBT+ community could be established elsewhere. Increasingly clergy were hearing stories of exclusion from LGBT+ Catholics and their families, and calls for a change of attitudes within Church and Society.
After much prayer, discussion, and discernment with priests and people, Bishop Terence (Terry) Drainey decided that a ministry of outreach to the LGBT+ community should be established in Middlesbrough Diocese. Thus the first such diocesan ministry in Britain, outside of London, began with the first of our Masses celebrated in the Bar Convent on Sunday 10th December 2017.
Since then we have met monthly for prayer, social time, and solidarity.
We are delighted that since our ministry was established there have been new LGBT+ ministries and celebrations in other English dioceses.