Bishop Gene Robinson is on the road to sainthood & he knows it

Twenty years ago, when he was consecrated as a Bishop in the Episcopal church, Gene Robinson wore a bulletproof vest under his vestments and got his first death threat. But Robinson lived and thrived, inspiring thousands of churchgoers and other religious leaders.

Now, even before he has died, the Right Reverend is on the road to sainthood. And he knows it.

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The first openly gay ordained bishop in the history of Christendom has become something more than himself — and he realizes it.

“I didn’t want to be the ‘gay bishop,’ I wanted to be a good bishop,” Robinson told CBS News in a recent profile. “But I realized I wasn’t in control of that. The media was going to make me the gay bishop whether I liked it or not. So, what I decided was, if I was gonna be the gay bishop, then I’d be the best damn gay bishop that I could ever be!”

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“I can tell you from my own experience, and it’s one of the things that led to my coming out: it’s an awful thing to stand in a pulpit and encourage people to live authentic lives when you know you’re not being authentic,” Robinson said. “It’s why I felt God called me out of the closet.”

Robinson’s appointment was highly controversial at the time. Hundreds of parishes left the church. It caused a rift between the American church and their British counterparts in the Anglican church. And the media lapped up the blowback, breathlessly reporting on every negative development.

Now, there are five other out Bishops in the church hierarchy. The Smithsonian Museum of American History displays the retired Bishop’s vestments. He’s often invited to speak at Washington D.C.’s prestigious National Cathedral. D.C.’s St. Thomas Episcopal Church has built a chapel named after him. And he’s become an icon to both the queer and religious communities.

Bishop Thomas Brown of Maine noted Robinson’s courageous leadership, saying he envisioned a special role in church history for the first out bishop.

“I think Bishop Robinson, actually given the history of our church, I think in 50 years there will be a date on our calendar that will have his name to it, which is to say that he will be recorded in the calendar of saints.”

Next to the chapel’s altar, there’s a box with the Right Reverend’s name engraved, waiting for his ashes to be interred.

“There’s something just lovely about knowing that that’s all settled,” he said. “And it’s, you know, just right next to the altar of the Bishop Gene Robinson Chapel. How could I want more than that?”

But he says it’s “really embarrassing” that he’s already being talked about as a potential Saint Gene.

“I feel like the least saintly person ever,” he said. “I know I’m not pure as the driven snow. But in my life, I’m happy with what I’ve done with what God has put in front of me.”