Love, faith, and a little holy water made for a tender full-circle moment as Gio Benitez was baptized and confirmed at an LGBTQ-inclusive Catholic parish in Manhattan.
The Good Morning America and ABC News anchor shared an emotional video as his husband Tommy DiDario stood at the altar with a steadying hand on his shoulder.
Benitez, who recently turned 40, described the experience as a homecoming to the Catholicism of his youth after years of feeling pushed away.
He said his journey back was sparked by the welcoming ministry of Jesuit priest Father James Martin, whose messages about LGBTQ+ dignity and God’s love landed right where it was needed.
“It was the first time I had seen a Catholic priest speak so beautifully about LGBTQ people,” Benitez reflected, noting how those words opened a door he thought was closed.
The ceremony took place at St. Paul the Apostle Church, a parish on the border of Hell’s Kitchen and the Upper West Side known for active outreach to queer Catholics.
Witnesses said DiDario served as Benitez’s sponsor, beaming as the priest anointed and blessed his husband before the congregation.
Benitez also received Communion, completing a sacramental milestone that clearly meant as much to his heart as it did to his history.
He teared up while recalling how he was first baptized at 15 and later drifted away as anti-gay rhetoric made church feel less like a refuge and more like a reprimand.
“If God created me, how could He not love me,” he remembered wondering, a question that quietly became a compass pointing him back toward grace.
As part of the couple’s Manhattan faith life, Benitez has been moved by Father Eric Andrews’ gentle sermons urging neighbors to “love one another” in word and in action.
That message was all over the video, where the images of husband, husband, and holy water felt like a tiny miracle in a very modern pew.
Afterward, Benitez wrote that he had found the “Ark of the Covenant in my heart,” which is about the loveliest way to describe inner peace we have heard all week.
DiDario called the moment one of the greatest honors of his life and said he was endlessly proud to stand as both sponsor and spouse.
The visual of two men at the altar, loved by their community and loving each other, undercuts years of cruel narratives with one simple truth.
Faith is bigger than fear, and love is bigger than any rulebook that forgets why the rules exist.
For many queer Catholics, scenes like this are not just touching but transformative, because representation at the altar reshapes what belonging looks like.
Benitez’s return sits within a wider shift as more parishes explore pastoral care that actually reflects the families in their pews.
It is not politics so much as hospitality, and hospitality is the oldest sacrament of all.
Whether you worship weekly or simply cheer from the sidelines, it is hard not to feel the resonance of a blessing freely given and gratefully received.
The couple’s quiet smiles said everything, and the congregation’s warmth did the rest.
Consider it a reminder that the holiest stories often begin with a hand on a shoulder and the words everyone longs to hear.
You are loved, you are wanted, and there is room for you here.
Amen to that, and amen to Gio and Tommy’s beautiful day.