Nuns of the Above



Nuns of The Above is the comic-tragic name given by the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence to those in their ranks who have died, mainly from AIDS, and are immortalized in their folk-art section of the Names Project Quilt commemorating people who have died from AIDS. The name was in part reference to Sister Boom Boom's run for San Francisco supervisor where she ran as "Nun of The Above." Created in the early 1990s the quilt has made history several times.

The Sisters' AIDS Names Project quilt for the "Nuns of the Above" was featured at the 1996 NAMES Project Quilt display in Washington D.C. in front of the United States House of Representatives and was the first memorial quilt viewed by then Vice President Al Gore and his wife Tipper Gore and later featured in the Names Projects' calendar worldwide. The Nuns of The Above quilt itself has been flown around the United States and is in high demand for local displays. While in town for the AIDS Memorial Quilt display the Sisters led an exorcism of homophobia, classism and racism on the steps of the U.S. House of Representatives and assisted with an activist AIDS death march and protest to the gates of the White House where ashes of people who had died from AIDS were illegally spread on the lawn.

The quilt was recently displayed at their 28th Anniversary community celebration in San Francisco's Dolores Park where community grants were handed out to non-profit charity organizations including those that serve people living with AIDS.