Some 1,400 Catholics wearing rainbow colors and carrying crosses took part in the first officially recognised LGBTQ+ pilgrimage to Rome on Saturday, joining Jubilee Year events at the Vatican in a procession that entered St. Peter’s Basilica through the Holy Door.
Pilgrims from about 20 countries participated in prayer vigils, masses and other activities over the weekend but did not receive a private audience with Pope Leo XIV, who was elected in May and has not publicly addressed the LGBTQ+ community or commented on his predecessor’s 2023 decree allowing limited blessings for same-sex couples.
The pilgrims’ entrance through the Holy Door — which is opened only once every 25 years to mark a Roman Catholic jubilee — is traditionally a symbol of reconciliation. Organisers described the event as an officially recognised pilgrimage within the Vatican’s Jubilee programme, and many participants said they hoped it would signal greater inclusion within the Church.
The gathering comes amid continuing debate within the Roman Catholic Church over its pastoral approach to LGBTQ+ people. In 2020, Pope Francis said that "homosexual people have a right to be in a family" and that they should not be "thrown out or made miserable over it." Three years later, Francis issued a decree allowing priests to bless same-sex and other "irregular" couples under certain circumstances, while the Vatican maintained that such blessings should not become part of regular liturgy or substitute for the Church's teaching that marriage is between a man and a woman.
That 2023 move drew criticism from conservative factions within the Church, including in parts of Africa, and contributed to broader tensions about doctrine and pastoral practice. Francis died in April, and the newly elected Pope Leo XIV has so far refrained from publicly addressing the subject or altering Church doctrine.
Advocacy groups welcomed the pilgrimage as a step toward visibility and inclusion. "Not only are LGBTQ people marching and walking to say that they're part of the Church, but official Church institutions are welcoming them and helping them to tell their stories," Francis DeBernardo, executive director of New Ways Ministry, told the National Catholic Reporter. New Ways Ministry advocates for LGBTQ Catholics within the Church.
Vatican officials have said the Jubilee will draw millions of pilgrims; organisers expect roughly 32 million people to visit Rome during Jubilee celebrations this year. The LGBTQ+ pilgrimage formed one of many events during the holy year that brought diverse groups to the Vatican, underscoring ongoing conversations about pastoral outreach, liturgical practice and the boundaries of Church teaching.
Participants said they intended the pilgrimage to be both a spiritual observance and a public affirmation of their belonging to the Catholic community. The Vatican’s formal recognition of the group marked a notable moment in a Jubilee year that is drawing unprecedented numbers of pilgrims and renewed attention to how the Church engages with a range of faithful.