About the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence
What we do
Promulgate Universal Joy
The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence take vows to Promulgate Universal Joy and Expiate Stigmatic Guilt. We are here for our community to foster hope, creativity, and wellness!
Community Service
Whether it’s welcoming revelers to the Folsom Street Fair or picking up trash in the Mission, The Sisters are more than just another community service organization: we are Sisters.
Host Events
We organize, plan and throw events both big and small. Throughout the year we host a range of events that bring joy to our community. Ours is a "ministry of presence.”
Grants & Fundraising
The Sisters fund small, grassroots projects promoting diversity, wellness, and human rights with $250–$1,000 grants, prioritizing underserved communities.
Who we are
WE ARE AN ORDER OF QUEER AND TRANS NUNS DEVOTED TO PROMULGATING UNIVERSAL JOY AND EXPIATING STIGMATIC GUILT.
Through drag, satire, activism, and community service, we challenge oppression, celebrate diversity, and create spaces where everyone can live authentically and freely.
The Sistory
FROM BORROWED HABITS IN 1979 TO A GLOBAL MOVEMENT OF LOVE, ACTIVISM, AND FABULOUSNESS.
Our Sistory is one of sacred mischief, compassion, and community care. Discover how decades of activism transformed a small San Francisco order into a worldwide movement.
Preserving Our Sistory
WE'VE BEEN MAKING HISTORY—AND OCCASIONALLY MAKING A MESS OF IT—SINCE 1979.
With support from a $100,000 Mellon Foundation grant in 2019, our community-based archive preserves decades of queer activism, ministry, and fabulousness for generations to come.
1979 - 1982
Founding Timeline
About the Founding Timeline
This interactive timeline is presented through the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence Archive, a community-based preservation initiative supported by a $100,000 grant awarded by the Mellon Foundation in 2019.
Explore the Original Archive — About the Mellon Foundation Grant
From the Archives
Sacramento Easter Sunday Protest 1992
It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
Rising Up with the Sisters
It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
Exorcism of Pope John Paul II And Sainting of Harvey Milk 1987
It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.