Catholic rituals blend with Neapolitan folklore in pilgrimage for queer community

MERCOGLIANO, Italy (RNS) — The pews of the Church of the Annunziata in Mercogliano, a town just outside of Naples, were filled with guests wearing lacquered nails, towering wigs and heavy eyelashes. The group known as femminielli — meaning a nonbinary gender identity with ancient roots — had gathered there for their annual pilgrimage, La Juta, honoring the biblical Mary and affirming the femminielli identity.

The parish priest celebrating the Mass, the Rev. Vitaliano Della Sala, said in his Feb.2 homily that the Juta "is a celebration of the encounter between the human and the divine,” stressing that these occasions are more important now than ever as violence, prejudice and war threaten rights around the world.

The Juta dei Femminielli is an old Catholic event that combines the human with the divine and highlights an identity rooted in cultural expression and Parthenopean, or Neapolitan, mythology. It takes place every year on Feb. 2, when Catholics celebrate Candlemas, the feast commemorating the presentation of Jesus to the temple. During the Mass, faithful bring their candles to the church to be blessed by the priest.

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