Some 1,400 Catholics wearing rainbow colours and carrying crosses entered St Peter’s Basilica through the Holy Door on Saturday as part of the first officially recognised LGBTQ+ pilgrimage to Rome during the Vatican’s Jubilee Year.
Pilgrims from about 20 countries attended prayer vigils, masses and other events in the Italian capital, organisers said, marking a symbolic procession of reconciliation. The group is taking part in Jubilee activities but will not have a private audience with Pope Leo XIV, who was elected in May and has not publicly addressed the LGBTQ+ community.
The procession through the Holy Door, which opens only for Jubilee years—roughly once every 25 years—signifies penitence and reconciliation in Catholic tradition. The Vatican has estimated that as many as 32 million pilgrims could travel to Rome during the year-long Jubilee celebrations.
Organisers described the event as historic because it represents an officially recognised presence of LGBTQ+ Catholics within the formal Jubilee programme. Francis DeBernardo, executive director of New Ways Ministry, which advocates for LGBTQ+ inclusion in the Catholic Church, said the pilgrimage and the participation of official Church institutions were helping people "tell their stories," according to the National Catholic Reporter.
The event comes amid continuing debate inside the Catholic Church over pastoral care for LGBTQ+ people. Pope Francis, who died in April, refrained from changing Church doctrine on sexual morality but took steps interpreted as more conciliatory. In 2020 he said homosexual people "have a right to be in a family" and added that they were "children of God" who should not be marginalised.
In 2023, Pope Francis issued a decree allowing priests to bless same-sex and other "irregular" couples under certain circumstances, a move that drew criticism from conservative bishops and faithful in some regions, notably parts of Africa. The Vatican later clarified that such blessings should not be incorporated into regular liturgical rites or equated with civil unions or weddings, reiterating the Church's teaching that marriage is between a man and a woman.
Pilgrims said the Jubilee events offered both spiritual practice and a public assertion of belonging to the Church. Participating groups said they had organised prayer services, reflection sessions and communal worship throughout the weekend, while also seeking to highlight pastoral needs and experiences of LGBTQ+ Catholics across different countries.
The presence of an officially recognised LGBTQ+ pilgrimage at the Vatican reflects broader tensions within global Catholicism as leaders and local communities navigate pastoral outreach and doctrinal continuity. Pope Leo XIV, as the new pontiff, has not issued public comment on his predecessor’s pastoral measures toward same-sex couples, leaving questions about how the Vatican will balance outreach with doctrinal positions as the Jubilee year continues.