Queer and Catholic: An Oral History Interview with Xorje Olivares

Click here to view a video recording of this CLGS Queer and Catholic Oral History Interview!

Xorje Olivares

Xorje Olivares (he/him) is a gay Catholic man of Mexican and Tejano descent. He was born to two schoolteachers in Eagle Pass, Texas, where he grew up and where his entire family still lives.  He and his family were and are closely involved in their local parish, Our Lady of Refugee, and he served as an altar server throughout his childhood.

After attending the University of Texas at Austin, where Xorje majored in broadcasting and Mexican American Studies, he moved to New York City after graduating in 2010. In New York City and today in San Francisco, California, he works a broadcast journalist and podcast producer.

Xorje’s previous work has included broadcasting at ABC News and Sirius XM (with a focus on queer and religious identity), including work at the Queer Channel at Sirius XM, as well as freelance writing for Vice.com, Playboy, and other outlets.  Now, he produces the Queer I Am Lord podcast uplifting the stories of Queer Catholics around the United States. He was 34 years old at the time of this interview.

Click here to access a written transcript of this CLGS Queer and Catholic Oral History Interview!

This Oral History Interview was conducted on 23 August 2022


Queer and Catholic, an Oral History Project of the CLGS Catholic Roundtable, interviews:

  • People who identify as LGBTQIA+ and Catholic (in the past or present);
  • People who are ordained and/or vowed members of religious communities who identify as LGBTQIA+;
  • People who were raised within Catholic communities or come from families where Catholicism has a dominant and discernable presence on their lives;
  • People who were raised in ethnically Catholic communities, particularly in immigrant communities; and
  • People who identify as culturally Catholic, in any manifestation that this culture takes form.

Founded in 2022, The CLGS Catholic Roundtable brings together leaders (lay and ordained), scholars, artists, educators, and activists to engage in strategic thinking with the goal of creating culturally-appropriate programs and coalitions that affirm the dignity and human worth of LGBTQ Catholics and our allies. Rooted in a variety of Catholic traditions, the Catholic Roundtable promotes LGBTQ Catholic leadership; develops educational, spiritual, and liturgical resources for Catholic individuals and communities; and fosters the exchange of best pastoral care practices with Catholic and allied faith communities.