Catholic Youth of Upper Austria sponsor queer Stations of the Cross

Queer Stations of the Cross "Escape Route" connects stories of flight with Passion

Project to be held at Christ Church in Graz on March 18

The ecumenical project "Escape Route" presents the Passion of Christ during Lent from a new perspective: The Stations of the Cross connect the Passion of Jesus with the contemporary experiences of queer people who have had to flee their countries because of their religious, sexual, and gender identities, explains the Catholic Youth of Upper Austria, describing the project they initiated. "Queer people don't flee for self-realization, but out of fear. Their courage, their vulnerability, and their hope are encountered beneath the cross—there, where every human experience has its place," project leader Anson Samuel explained in an interview with the Kathpress news agency (Friday).

The queer Stations of the Cross, which was first celebrated in 2024, is open to everyone—regardless of faith, sexual orientation, or age. Following moving performances at the Votive Church in Vienna and the "Green Anchor" youth church in Linz, "Escape Route" will be presented at Christ Church in Graz on March 18th at 7 pm, as announced by the Catholic Youth. The audience will be actively involved. In Vienna and Linz, encouraging messages were written on tea bag labels and shared. At the end of the event, hot tea was served in colorful travel mugs, and there was time for fellowship and conversation.

Interviews with queer refugees form the basis of the Stations of the Cross. Texts were developed from their stories and presented in the form of fictional telephone conversations. "The stories told are incredibly powerful – they take your breath away, and words fail to describe the impact," reports Hannelore Mayer, pastoral assistant specializing in LGBTQ+ ministry at the Youth Church in Vienna.

Interviews with queer refugees form the basis of the Stations of the Cross. Furthermore, the "Escape Route" incorporates performative scenes, aerial acrobatics, music, and moments of reflection. The project description states that the goal is "to make experiences of exclusion, violence, and hope visible and to promote social awareness." The unique artistic approach makes it possible to overcome language and cultural barriers. Moreover, bodies express what words cannot—especially in the case of traumatic experiences. "Touching people without physically touching them," is how one of the participating aerial acrobats, Stefanie Rausch, described the idea behind her performance, which she created together with Arson Bauer.

The queer Stations of the Cross is being developed in collaboration with full-time staff from several dioceses and denominations. The project is supported by institutions of the dioceses of Linz, Graz-Seckau, Innsbruck, and the Archdiocese of Vienna, as well as the Evangelical Church of Vienna. The project demonstrates the power of ecumenical cooperation, as the Protestant university chaplain Katharina Payk, queer theologian and participant in the project, explains: "When we as Christian people live (queer) diversity together, the church becomes a place that overcomes boundaries."

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