Sister Geneviève and transgender and homosexual people meet with the Pope: we feel welcomed with him

The little sister of Jesus, who for 56 years has lived in a trailer with the carnival workers at the Ostia Lido amusement park, was at the general audience in St. Peter's Square today, like almost every Wednesday, to greet the Pontiff and introduce him to a group of people with whom he carries out his ministry: "They have finally found a Church that has reached out to them."

"Here she is, the enfant terrible..." Pope Francis is finishing his tour of the forecourt of St. Peter's Basilica after the Wednesday general audience; Between greeting sick children, groups of priests, and young married couples, she catches sight of the blue twinkle in the eyes of Sister Geneviève Jeanningros, a little sister of Jesus, almost an icon of the "Gospel lived down to earth," that is, of a ministry carried out for 56 years among LGBTQ+ communities and the fairground workers at the Ostia Lido amusement park, with whom she shares her life, living in a caravan with her fellow nun Anna Amelia. A jacket shielding her small shoulders from the scorching sun, and a blue veil, held in place by two hairpins, framing a face with almost Botticelli-like features despite the wrinkles of 81 years, the nun is sitting in the front row. She is the last after a "mixed group": homosexuals, transgender people, a couple of catechists, a young woman involved in prison ministry among transgender people in Rebibbia. She doesn't actually know them personally, nor does she ask who they are or what their sexual orientation is: "No, I don't ask." For Sister Geneviève, what matters is "going where the Church has the hardest time going," as Charles de Foucauld desired, from whom the Little Sisters inherited their charism.

The Pope: the Spirit is a wind that cannot be harnessed; it creates and sets free. "Freedom is not doing what one wants," and it is true when it is expressed "in what seems to be its opposite, service." This is what Francis said in his catechesis at the general audience in...

Many types of humanity

Francis pauses for a few minutes to greet her, hands a rosary to Ada, who is celebrating her birthday today: "This is a gift from the Pope," then shakes hands, makes a joke, and gives a blessing. With Sister Geneviève, he exchanges few words and a quick smile; it is an exchange with a friend he sees often. Moreover, the French-born nun meets every Wednesday in St. Peter's Square to greet the Pope and introduce him to groups of people.

Many have passed through in recent years: nomads, gypsies, circus performers, transgender people, homosexuals, and couples of various kinds. "In these worlds, we see all kinds of people pass by, and your heart opens up. We are all human beings, you can't make a narrow judgment," explains Sister Geneviève, also recalling the meeting with the family (mother, father, sisters, partner) of a gay American doctor who died of Covid due to his work "in the trenches" during the pandemic, but who was denied a church funeral because he was gay. "His father said, 'I no longer believe in this Church.' Through a sister from the US, we had them come to Rome, and they greeted the Pope, who blessed them... And they left, in every sense."

The nun had met the Pope some time ago; she had written to him since after his election, recalling the story of a missionary aunt in Argentina who disappeared during the "Dirty War." Their correspondence never ended, and during an audience with street artists, Francis even had her sing his birthday greetings. "Yes, we love each other..." she smiles.

In the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, while people were experiencing the "drama" of finding themselves without work, without anything to eat, and with a heavy load of bills, together with the parish priest of the Blessed Virgin Immaculate of Torvaianica, Father Andrea Conocchia, she decided to knock on the door of that "field hospital Church" that Jorge Mario Bergoglio had always preached. Our first contact was "Don Corrado," Cardinal Almoner Konrad Krajewski: "We asked for help, and he came with a van full of stuff. If you need anything, even bills, bring it to us," he told us. "I did it for the friends at Luna Park, Don Andrea for the transgender community: about 40-50, many South Americans, more than one Argentine."

After this initial emergency, the doctors "from the colonnade" went to Torvaianica and Ostia and treated these sick people. "They even took them to get vaccinated." "The women," Sister Geneviève recounts, "then said: 'We want to thank Pope Francis!' We asked ourselves: 'But how will they be received?' I had no doubts from the Pope, but in general... You know, there are some prejudices. I understand them. I had them too when I was young, but then you meet people, you see their sensitivity. You cry and laugh with them."

The First Meetings

In short, Sister Geneviève, juggling WhatsApp messages and emails ("Yes, I know how to use them, but sometimes I forget things... I'm 81 years old"), managed to write directly to the Pope. No reply, but straight away she received "good tickets" for the audience. One Wednesday, she accompanied Claudia, who was one of the first, then Marcella, and many others: "Even one was killed shortly afterward. The Pope had met her, they took a photo, I brought it to him, and he prayed for her."

A sincere relationship

"The Pope welcomed us... I don't even know how to describe it!" recalls the nun. From there, it was a flood of notes, letters, even empanadas prepared by the Argentinians and much appreciated by Francis. "They love him so much because it's the first time that trans and gay people have been welcomed by a Pope. They thanked him because they finally found a Church that reached out to them." The relationship that has now been established is sincere, free from any opportunism, but based on benevolence and gratitude. And it's a relationship that hasn't been affected even by the recent controversy over the Pope's remarks during a closed-door meeting: "Perhaps there was a bit of pain at first, but in retrospect they laughed and said: 'In reality, it's not like that. The Pope loves the little ones; he certainly doesn't throw them away.'"

Next Wednesday, Geneviève Jeanningros will be back at the general audience: "I'm accompanying ten people, seven of them homosexuals. They're coming from Milan and other places to reiterate their affection for the Pope."

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