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LGBTQ+ Catholics make Holy Year pilgrimage to Rome and celebrate a new sense of acceptance
- More than 1,400 LGBTQ Catholics and supporters held a pilgrimage in Rome during the Catholic Church's 2025 Jubilee year, marking the first such event on the official program.
- The pilgrimage followed Pope Francis's 2023 decision allowing priests to bless same-sex couples, which sparked strong opposition from conservative Church branches, especially in Africa.
- Participants, including a transgender woman who walked 130 kilometers and others from 20 countries, took part in a mass at the Church of the Gesu and processed through the Vatican's Holy Door carrying a rainbow cross.
- Hugo, a 35-year-old participant from Quebec, viewed the event as a meaningful gesture that helped foster a greater sense of belonging and expressed optimism that it would encourage more acceptance of LGBTQ individuals within the Church.
- Despite Pope Francis's overtures, organizers and attendees acknowledged ongoing obstacles, especially regarding official blessings for same-sex marriages, and called for shifting mindsets among Catholics to foster inclusivity.
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136 Articles
Hundreds of Catholics from that community traveled the streets of Rome to St.Peter's Square.Although Pope Leo XIV did not speak specifically about the subject, he showed openness and continuity with the gestures of his predecessor Francis.
More than 1,400 believers from around 20 countries participated in a pilgrimage as part of the Jubilee Year of the Church.
Italian bishop celebrates Mass for LGBT pilgrimage in Rome’s Church of Gesù
The Church of the Gesù, where a Mass and prayer vigil for LGBT Christians took place on Sept. 6, 2025, in Rome during the 2025 Jubilee Year of Hope. / Credit: essevu/Shutterstock Vatican City, Sep 6, 2025 / 13:30 pm (CNA). Bishop Francesco Savino, vice president of the Italian Bishops’ Conference, celebrated Mass at the Church of the Gesù on Saturday for LGBT pilgrims in Rome for the Jubilee of Hope.An Italian lay association organized the inter…
A first in the Vatican: a thousand LGBTQ+ Catholics and their loved ones make a pilgrimage this weekend as part of the "Holy Year", an "important signal" towards greater diversity in the Catholic Church.
A historic pilgrimage: Why LGBTQ Catholics hope Pope Leo will take up Francis’ legacy
By Christopher Lamb, CNN Rome (CNN) — The Church of the Gesù in central Rome was packed, as a procession with a cross in rainbow colors moved up the central aisle. The service marked the first officially recognized pilgrimage of LGBTQ Catholics to Rome. Around 1,000 pilgrims gathered Friday in the 17th century baroque church to play music, pray and reflect, while on Saturday they processed to St Peter’s Basilica, entering through the basilica’s …
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