Mercy Sr. Janet Rozzano discovered she was a lesbian gradually.
During the 1960s and '70s, she became emotionally close with several women, describing her feelings in journal entries filled with both fear and joy, as she wrote in an essay published in
When she gathered the courage to come out, other women in her community supported her, Rozzano told Global Sisters Report. Soon, she became an advocate for other LGBTQ Catholics.
"I came to see my telling people — coming out to them — as a ministry in itself," Rozzano said.
Her impact reached fellow Sisters of Mercy, including Sr. Mary Kay Dobrovolny, who describes herself in the book as "unapologetically and enthusiastically queer."