Thought to be the first openly Transgender person working in the Catholic Diocese, Brother Christian Matson shares his story.
Living in Truth
While celebrating Pentecost with his church community in Kentucky, Christian Matson made the brave decision to publicly share his identity as a Transgender person.
Matson said, “I was seeing young trans people take their own lives because they felt rejected by their communities, including their religious communities”.
Continuing, “I could no longer sit in the safety of being stealth and not raise my voice to say, ‘This is wrong.’”
Matson, who acknowledges his own “privilege” as passing for a cisgender male, but felt it was time to share his truth.
When on his journey to pursue a vocational role, Matson was always honest about his identity to the church leaders and spiritual leaders and wanted to find a place where he felt he truly belonged.
Matson has always been a dedicated man of God, and shared, “From a child, I wanted to be a ‘knight for Christ,’ going around doing good”.
Almost 4 years after Christian Matson had transitioned, he felt the calling even more strongly while attending a Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults.
After feeling the call to join the vocation, Matson contacted a lawyer who specializes in Catholic law, a canon lawyer, on how to best proceed with his journey.
For over 10 years, Matson was continuously denied, either with an immediate no or a dismissive “talk to someone higher up” also resulting in a “no”.
Matson shared, “They would say something along the lines of, ‘It’s clear you have a vocation, but our community is just not ready to grapple with the complexity of this situation”.
Another roadblock for Matson was an outdated order from the Vatican from 2000, stating that transgender people are not permitted to enter religious life due to “lack of mental stability”.
Luckily, one Reverend in Kentucky, Rev. John Stowe, was willing to take the risk in 2020. After hearing the news, Matson said, “I feel immense relief and gratitude”.
With Rev. John Stowe’s seal of approval, Christian Matson could officially declare himself as diocesan hermit.
A diocesan hermit, or person dedicated to a life of solitude under the spiritual guidance of a church leader, is a rare but important role within the vocation.
The role of a hermit can be vastly different based on the diocese, but Matson shares that he prays in the morning, attends daily mass, and remains dedicated and obedient to the word of the Lord.
To pay the bills, Matson works at a local theater in the afternoons.
The Diocese of Lexington released a formal statement on May 21st, stating, “Brother Christian has long sought to consecrate his life to Christ in the Church by living the evangelical counsels of poverty, chastity and obedience”.
The release continued, “He does not seek ordination, but has professed a rule of life that allows him to support himself financially by continuing his work in the arts and to live a life of contemplation in a private hermitage”.
“Bishop John Stowe, OFM Conv., accepted his profession and is grateful to Brother Christian for his witness of discipleship, integrity and contemplative prayer for the Church”.
Loopholes in the Law
One of the loopholes that has helped Matson navigate the Catholic law is that there is no concept of gender mentioned and instead has very strict rules on biological sex. Unfortunately, there is still a lot of work to do within the Catholic church in regards to embracing transgender Catholics.
In April of 2024, the Vatican released an official document stating that “gender affirming surgery is a violation of human dignity”. Matson has received mixed reviews both online and in-person since coming out as transgender, but he remains positive.
Matson shares, “My only agenda is the Gospel” continuing to say that the pushback is “not a question of ideology. It is a simple disagreement as to what the facts are about the complexity of the human person”.
Featured Image Credit: Shutterstock / Creative Photo Corner.
