Making history on Tuesday morning, with the blessing of the Church

As a Jesuit priest, the Rev. James Martin has bestowed thousands of blessings for more than two decades—on rosary beads, on babies, on homes, boats and meals, on statues of saints, on the sick, on brides and on grooms.

But never before has he been allowed to bless a same-sex couple — not until Monday, when the pope said he would allow such blessings, an announcement that reverberated through the church.

Tuesday morning, Damian Steidl Jack, 44, and his husband, Jason Steidl Jack, 38, stood before Father Martin in a living room on Manhattan’s West Side. The couple, who were a little late due to subway delays, dressed casually. Damian, a floral designer, complimented Father Martin on the pine scent of the Christmas tree.

In keeping with the Vatican’s warning that such a blessing should not be performed with “any clothing, gestures or words proper to a wedding,” Father Martin wore no robes and read from no text. There is no blessing for same-sex couples in the big book of blessings published by the U.S. Conference of Bishops. Instead, he chose his own favorite from the Old Testament.

“May the Lord bless you and keep you,” Father Martin began, touching the shoulders of the two men. They bowed their heads slightly and held hands.

“May the Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you. May the Lord turn His face toward you and grant you joy and peace.

“And may God Almighty bless you,” he said, making the sign of the cross, “the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.”

And then, with the emotion clear on their faces, the three men hugged each other.

Father Martin is perhaps the leading advocate for LGBTQ Catholics in America. He has met regularly with Pope Francis about making the Roman Catholic Church more inclusive, and in the fall, at the pope’s invitation, he took part in a global meeting on the future of the church.

By Tuesday morning he was far from the centers of power. He was making history at home. Father Martin had waited years for the privilege of saying such a prayer, however simple, in the open air.

“It was very nice,” Father Martin said Tuesday, “to be able to do that publicly.”

The pope’s decision was hailed as a landmark victory by advocates for gay Catholics, who described it as an important gesture of openness and pastoral care, and a reminder that an institution whose age is measured in millennia can change.

The decision does not alter the church’s teaching that marriage is between a man and a woman. It does not allow priests to perform same-sex marriages. It takes effort to distinguish between the sacrament of marriage – which must take place in a church – and a blessing, which is a more informal, even spontaneous gesture. And the blessing by a priest of a same-sex couple may not take place in connection with a civil wedding ceremony, it says.

News of the pope’s decision spread quickly among gay Catholics, many of whom began preparing for their own blessings after the busy Christmas season.

On the morning of the pope’s announcement, Michael McCabe’s husband, Eric Sherman, came into his home office in their Forest Hills, Queens, apartment full of news: Their 46-year partnership could finally be blessed.

“When you wait so long for church to come, you kind of lose hope,” said Mr. McCabe, 73, who attends Mass every Sunday at St. Francis Xavier Church in Manhattan’s Chelsea neighborhood.

The couple married in Connecticut in 2010, before same-sex marriage became legal in their home state of New York. They had long been resigned to the church’s position, even if they had not yet made peace with it, Mr. McCabe said.

“I know that myself and my relationship with my husband are good things,” said Mr. McCabe, who taught catechism to first-graders at the church.

Although the Pope’s decision does not recognize Mr McCabe’s marriage, he said he could only take joy in the news. After rejoicing with his husband on Monday, he emailed his priest. They plan to receive a blessing early in the new year.

It was not immediately clear how various priests across the country would respond to the pope’s invitation to bless gay couples. The announcement gives individual priests space and encouragement to offer the blessings, but does not require them to do so. Gay couples living in more liberal dioceses are more likely to find a willing priest than those living in conservative dioceses. In Chicago, Cardinal Blase J. Cupich, a close ally of Pope Francis, issued a statement saying that in his archdiocese we “welcome this declaration, which will help many more people in our community feel the closeness and compassion of God .” Many other bishops have remained silent until now. Conservative critics have said the pope’s move essentially encourages priests to bless sin.

“I’m sure many old bishops will be open to this, and many young priests will need to be convinced,” said Massimo Faggioli, a professor of theology at Villanova University, noting that young Catholic priests in the United States are overwhelmingly conservative.

In New York City, where a handful of progressive Catholic churches have led the way in welcoming LGBTQ parishioners but have failed to marry them and sanctify their union, the news from the Vatican was just as upsetting for some priests exciting as for their parishioners.

“I say it’s about damn time,” said the Rev. Joseph Juracek, pastor of the Church of St. Francis of Assisi in Midtown, who believes the church is finally aligning with the teachings of Jesus: “This is where it it’s all about him. : That’s what God is for all people.”

While many Catholics celebrated the pope’s decision, others said it was too little, too late. Some LGBTQ people who left the church years ago because they didn’t feel welcome said it was a half-measure that wouldn’t entice them to return.

Thomas Molina-Duarte, 37, a social worker in Detroit, was one active member of his local Catholic parish for many years. But when he and his husband married, they had to do so in an Episcopal church, and eventually they joined a “house church,” where they met with a small group to read closely from texts from the Bible.

“I welcome the news, but it does not make me return to the Church,” Mr Molina-Duarte said of the pope’s decision. “We found a community of other people that we could fully commit to.”

In New York City, Damian and Jason Steidl Jack, who were married last year, had previously discussed the possibility of a blessing with Father Martin, a longtime friend of Jason’s. When Father Martin texted Monday afternoon and asked if they wanted a blessing, they took him up on the offer.

“God’s grace is at work in our lives whether the Vatican makes an announcement or not,” says Jason, an assistant professor of religious studies at St. Joseph’s University in Brooklyn and an advocate for gay Catholics. “But we look forward to the support of our communities and our pastors who care for us.”

As they walked back to the subway from Father Martin’s Jesuit community home, Jason and Damian said the blessing he had given them felt both ordinary and profound.

“It’s one grace among many,” Jason said. They were part of history and also on their way to meet Damian’s mother Walmart for Christmas shopping.

“It’s like you said,” Jason told his husband, “it’s like we’re claiming our space.”

Kirsten Noyes research contributed.