Most of us first heard of Father Mychal Judge, the "Saint of 9/11", from that iconic photo of his body being carried from Ground Zero.
Yet even prior to his heroic death, Father Mychal was widely seen by many New Yorkers as a living saint for his deep spirituality and his extraordinary work not only with firefighters -- but also with the homeless, recovering alcoholics, people with AIDS, immigrants, gays and lesbians, and others rejected by society.
Father Mychal was also openly gay, though celibate. He blessed and supported committed gay relationships asking -- Is there so much love in the world that we can afford to discriminate against any kind of love ?
This often annoyed the Roman church hierarchy. But like his spiritual father St. Francis of Assisi, Mychal reported directly to a Higher Authority, as evidenced by several miraculous healings through him.
For further information on Father Mychal, you can visit:
http://SaintMychalJudge.blogspot.com