A Mass in memory of murdered members of the LGBT community has spurred controversy in Brazil. While LGBT Catholic movements hailed the event as a sign of support to their cause, Traditionalists criticized what they said was as political act against the doctrine of the Church. The Mass was celebrated on May 21 by the Archbishop of Salvador, Cardinal Sérgio da Rocha, and had been requested by two local LGBT rights organizations, the Center for Advocacy and Defense of the LGBT Rights in Bahia State (CPDD/LGBT) and the Beneficent Institution Conceição Macedo (IBCM). Statistics released by national and international institutions have traditionally put Brazil at the top of the list of nations with the highest number of transgender people being murdered. In 2020, 175 transgender men and women were murdered in the South American country.