New York's famed St. Patrick's Cathedral says the Catholic Church was tricked into holding a funeral for a trans activist hailed as 'mother of all whores'

New York's iconic St. Patrick's Cathedral has claimed it was tricked into holding a “scandalous” funeral service for a transgender activist who was celebrated at mass as “the great whore.”

The Catholic cathedral, which bills itself as 'America's parish church', has been ordered to hold a 'restoration mass' after hundreds of scantily clad admirers danced in the aisles for former sex worker Cecilia Gentili.

The self-described atheist died on February 6 at the age of 52, and organizers have admitted they kept her identity 'a bit hidden' when they booked the mass with cathedral authorities.

Now the cathedral's pastor has issued a groveling apology to his parishioners, thanking the “many who have let us know that they share our outrage.”

“The cathedral only knew that family and friends were requesting a funeral mass for a Catholic, and had no idea that our reception and prayer would be degraded in such a sacrilegious and deceptive manner,” Father Enrique Salvo said in a statement.

'The fact that such a scandal has occurred at 'America's Parish Church' makes it even worse.

“That it occurred as Lent began, the annual forty-day battle with the forces of sin and darkness, is a powerful reminder of how much we need the prayer, restoration, repentance, grace, and mercy that this holy season invites. us.'

Born in Argentina, Gentili began sex work in New York City after moving illegally to the US and struggling to find a job in Miami.

In 2009, she was arrested on drug possession charges and imprisoned on Rikers Island, but released with an ankle monitor after a judge ruled she could not be safely confined with men or women without risk of attack.

But she was granted asylum in 2012 and became a prominent advocate for LGBT rights and HIV prevention.

Just days before her death, Gentili was successful in winning a $540,000 grant from the CDC for her trans outreach program aimed at combating community transmission of HIV.

Funeral organizer Ceyenne Doroshow said she chose St. Patrick's for the Feb. 15 funeral because “it's an icon, just like them.”

The pews were packed with about a thousand mourners, many dressed in revealing outfits, including one wearing a feather boa made from $100 bills.

A photo at the altar showed a haloed Gentili surrounded by the Spanish words for “transvestite,” “whore,” “blessed” and “mother” above the text of Psalm 25.

Actor Billy Porter kicked off the “political theater” with a performance of “This Day,” before Father Edward Dougherty gave the service and declared that “Cecilia died with Christ.”

“This great whore, Saint Cecelia, mother of all whores,” declared a mourner from the pulpit.

“Today we say that we will see you soon and that you will give us the strength and courage to continue your legacy, to continue the challenges ahead.”

A priest singing “Ave Maria” was unexpectedly joined by a mourner singing “Ave Cecilia” as they danced down the aisles, twirling a red scarf.

New York City is home to at least ten gay-friendly Catholic parishes, but St. Patrick's Cathedral is not one of them.

Father Dougherty has previously written lovingly about his first ministry in Tanzania, where gays face life in prison and lawmakers have pushed to make gay sex a capital crime.

Gentili, who faced abuse from her family and neighbors after coming out as gay at age 12, became a U.S. citizen in September 2022 and released a book that year titled Faltas: Letters to Everyone in My Hometown Who Isn't My Rapist.

She also worked as a stand-up comedian and appeared in the critically acclaimed FX series “Pose,” playing Miss Orlando, a New York City woman who performed discount plastic surgery.

Organizers believe hers may have been the first-ever funeral service for a trans person in the 19th-century cathedral.

Gentili died at home in Brooklyn, not far from Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary Church, where priest Jamie J Gigantiello issued a groveling apology and was fired as church administrator in November after allowing singer Sabrina Carpenter to make a “sacrilegious” pop video filming on the altar.

The video showed 24-year-old Carpenter arriving at the church dressed provocatively in a pink hearse for the “funeral” of ex-boyfriends, in front of an altar decorated with their pastel coffins, one of which was inscribed “RIP B* ***' contained. .

“I agreed to the recordings after a general search of the artists involved revealed nothing questionable,” Gigantiello wrote in a letter to parishioners.