NEWPORT, R.I. — A Transgender Day of Remembrance vigil hosted Tuesday inside Salve Regina University’s Our Lady of Mercy Chapel has prompted concern among Catholic community members who say the event conflicted with the chapel’s sacred purpose and with established Catholic teaching on gender ideology and the human person.

The event, organized by the student group Salve Alliance with support from the university’s LGBTQ+ Center and the Office of Spiritual Life, featured speakers, readings and a display of the transgender flag draped across the chapel’s altar. Photos posted by the group show pumpkins and pride-flag decorations placed before the sanctuary, as well as a speaker addressing attendees from the front of the chapel.

In the 2024 declaration Dignitas Infinita, the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith reaffirmed long-standing Church teaching: 

“Teaching about the need to respect the natural order of the human person, Pope Francis affirmed that “creation is prior to us and must be received as a gift. At the same time, we are called to protect our humanity, and this means, in the first place, accepting it and respecting it as it was created.” It follows that any sex-change intervention, as a rule, risks threatening the unique dignity the person has received from the moment of conception.”

Some Salve Regina community members say the vigil crossed a serious line by placing the transgender flag on the chapel altar which is reserved for the sacrifice of the Mass.

From Salve Alliance instagram post, “On Transgender Day of Remembrance, we reflect on our Transgender Remembrance Vigil, where we grieved the losses of transgender people lost to hate in the past year. In times like these, it is so important to realize that remembrance is not enough. We need to take action to create a world where transgender people are not just remembered after their death, but protected, happy, and alive. Transgender lives are beautiful and come in so many different shapes and forms. Alliance is so honored that we get to support so many of them, and we are excited to continue to do so in the future.”

The Current has received a copy of an email sent to the Diocese.