Anderson Cooper (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

ROME—Gay CNN anchor Anderson Cooper discussed his decision to come out with journalist Michelangelo Signorile on Monday.

“Being gay is a blessing,” Cooper told Signorile from the Italian capital where he is covering the papal conclave.

Cooper, one of America’s most prominent openly gay celebrities, who came out last July in a statement published on Andrew Sullivan’s blog, at the time at the Daily Beast, also discussed his brother’s 1988 suicide. He also spoke with Signorile about the award he is scheduled to receive at the 2013 GLAAD Media Awards in New York City on Saturday.