By Jake Naylor // Photography by Megan Williams (IGT Images)

Las Vegas may be known for dazzling lights, bold personalities, and a “what-happens-here” spirit, but few local icons embody that energy with as much purpose and pride as the Sin Sity Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence.

Part spiritual satire, part community lifeline, the Sisters have served the Las Vegas LGBTQ+ community for over two decades, wielding compassion, drag, and activism like sacred tools. Now, as they prepare to host the 2025 International Conclave of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, their legacy is taking center stage in a global celebration of queer joy and resilience.

“Hosting Conclave is both an honor and a responsibility,” says Sister Pru, Abbess and President of the Sin Sity Sisters. “For us, it means welcoming our global family to Las Vegas; a city built on spectacle, resilience, and reinvention. It gives us the opportunity to showcase our work locally, while also drawing strength from the worldwide Sisterhood. For me personally, it feels like bringing the world home to our doorstep.”

Ministry with a Twist of Rhinestone

If you’ve ever seen a group of radiant nuns in towering wigs and painted faces handing out safer sex kits at a PRIDE event, or leading a candlelight vigil for those we’ve lost to HIV/AIDS, chances are you’ve encountered the Sin Sity Sisters. Their mission? To promulgate universal joy, expiate stigmatic guilt, and raise awareness and funds for those in need, especially those living with or affected by HIV/AIDS.

Through their Sister Santa Grant Fund and the Sisters AIDS Drug Assistance Program (SADAP), the Sisters offer emergency financial assistance and life-saving medication support to individuals impacted by HIV in Southern Nevada.

“SADAP is their greatest impact on the Las Vegas community,” notes Jim McCoy, Saint Imagine Reality. “It has saved the lives of so many individuals. Created by the founding members of the Order, it gave them an incredible sense of purpose.”

That work continues to evolve. “Our mission has always been rooted in love, service, and activism, but it continues to evolve as the needs of our community change,” Sister Pru explains. “Today, that means expanding our outreach: addressing HIV through compassion and visibility, while also directly helping clients access PrEP as prevention and HIV medications that allow them to achieve undetectable status. We are walking alongside our community through the full spectrum of this disease, from prevention to long-term care, while never losing sight of the joy and irreverence that make us who we are.”

Conclave 2025: Sin Sity’s Turn to Shine

The Sisters’ Conclave is an annual international gathering that brings together Sisters and Guards from houses around the world. In 2025, Las Vegas will host this sacred and glitter-laced event, marking a significant moment not just for the Sin Sity Sisters, but for the entire queer community of Southern Nevada.

“Having had the opportunity to host several national and international LGBTQIA+ conferences and committees over the years,” says Brady McGill, President of Las Vegas PRIDE and Saint Raging Pride of the Flaming Flamingo, “it is a great privilege to have the Sisters join us in Las Vegas, especially coinciding with our Las Vegas PRIDE events!”

He continues, “We are very excited to have the Sisters as Grand Marshals of the Las Vegas PRIDE Night Parade! We’re also blessed to be partnering with them on our co-produced event, ABSOLUTION, which will raise funds while celebrating, educating, and uplifting our kinky community, too.”
For McCoy, Conclave is more than just a party: “I would love for the visiting Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence to leave Las Vegas with a greater sense of Sisterhood and Inspiration. In these unprecedented times, Conclave will definitely have a different feel and purpose; less celebratory and more focused.”

And Sister Pru emphasizes the global solidarity of the moment: “When Sisters gather, the energy is unmistakable, powerful, irreverent, and healing. For Las Vegas, this means visibility on an international scale, but more importantly, it means locals get to experience that wave of love firsthand.”

Serious, Silly, and Sacred

From white face paint and fabulous habits to deeply meaningful rituals, the Sisters’ aesthetic draws heavily on Catholic iconography. But while their presentation may be playful, their intent is sincere.

“The Sisters use a whole host of imagery, ritual, and religious cues to help grab attention, structure their work, and spread their gospel,” explains McGill. “This balance of serious and silly, party and cause, beauty and severity, all net a sum that is more than their individual parts. It’s why the Sisters have become the global phenomenon that they are today.”

For Sister Pru, the famous motto captures it perfectly: “For us in Las Vegas, ‘promulgating joy and expiating guilt’ is more than clever wordplay; it’s a practice. We show up where joy is needed most: at Pride, at HIV testing events, at vigils, and in nightclubs. We hand out condoms with a wink, bless people at weddings, and directly assist clients with their PrEP and HIV medications. To us, that’s joy in action, helping people live fully, freely, and without shame.”

And when it comes to their cheeky tagline?

“For me, ‘Go Forth and Sin Some More’ is both a wink and a call to action. It reminds us not to let shame, fear, or judgment hold us back. Instead, we embrace life boldly, love unapologetically, and live authentically. That spirit defines our Order: irreverent on the surface, but deeply committed to justice, compassion, and healing underneath.”

Saints Among Us

Both McGill and McCoy share the rare honor of being “Sainted” by the Sin Sity Sisters is a ceremonial recognition reserved for allies and community champions who embody the spirit of the Order.

“As Saint Sir Imagine Reality, it was an honor to have been acknowledged for my dedication and support to the Sisters,” McCoy says. “Although not an acclaim that was necessary, I truly appreciate the recognition and the privilege it is to stand together with so many Saints who came before and after me.”

McGill agrees: “I am extremely PROUD to hold the absolute honor to have been Sainted by our Las Vegas Order. I’ve been serving as a representative of Las Vegas PRIDE for the past 17 years, and our partnership with the Sisters has benefitted our community and will continue to do so into the future.”

Stories, Stages, and the Occasional Paddle

McCoy recalls one moment in particular that captures the Sisters’ joyful irreverence: “The RED DRESS Party at Beauty Bar was my very first RED DRESS and my introduction to the craziness that is a random paddle on the arse from a Sister! It was raining, we were soaked, but we didn’t care. We were on a makeshift stage of plywood and cinder blocks. There’s much more to that story, but I’ll keep it PG-13!”

An Appropriately Inappropriate Partnership

The collaboration between Las Vegas PRIDE and the Sin Sity Sisters has always been one of shared values, mutual respect, and a little holy mischief.

“The Sisters, Las Vegas PRIDE, and PROUD & Kinky have a synergy that I would say is ‘appropriately inappropriate,’” says McGill with a smile. “The work we all do in the LGBTQIA+, HIV/AIDS space, and the greater community is intended to uplift, engage, enlighten, and do real good for each other. We are blessed to have one another.”

Seven Sins, One City

Of course, no Las Vegas Conclave would be complete without a touch of spectacle. For 2025, the Sisters have themed the entire week around the Seven Deadly Sins. Sister Pru shares the lineup:

• Wednesday, 10/8/25 – Greed: PRIDE Bingo (open to the public)
• Thursday, 10/9/25 – Pride & Gluttony: Photo Shoot at the Vegas Sign (open to the public) & Private Brunch
• Friday, 10/10/25 – Envy: Las Vegas PRIDE Parade (open to the public, free to attend)
• Saturday, 10/11/25 – Lust: ABSOLUTION PARTY (open to the public, ticketed event)
• Sunday Morning, 10/12/25 – Love: ELEVATE Pool Party (open to the public, ticketed event)
• Sunday, 10/12/25 – Sloth: Private Brunch

“Ticket details for public events, including ABSOLUTION, will be posted on our website,” Pru says. “We invite the community to join us for these joyful, outrageous, and unforgettable gatherings.”

A Blessing on the Boulevard

Whether they’re working a bingo fundraiser, blessing a leather boot, or marching in the PRIDE Parade, the Sin Sity Sisters do it all with divine flair and an unshakable commitment to love.

As the countdown to Conclave 2025 begins, one thing is certain: this isn’t just a celebration. It’s a sacred gathering of queer spirit, resilience, and unapologetic joy.

This article was originally published in the 2025 PRIDE Celebration Issue of Las Vegas PRIDE Magazine, and can be read in its original format here.