About 1,400 Catholics wearing rainbow attire and carrying crosses took part in what organisers described as the first officially recognised LGBTQ+ pilgrimage to Rome on the sidelines of the Vatican’s Jubilee Year, entering St. Peter’s Basilica through the Holy Door as part of masses, prayer vigils and other events this weekend.
Pilgrims came from roughly 20 countries to participate in the procession and associated activities, organisers said. The group 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 on blessings for same-sex couples.
The procession through the Holy Door on Saturday held symbolic significance for participants and some church officials. The Holy Door is opened only during jubilee years, an event that occurs roughly once every 25 years and is intended to symbolise reconciliation. The pilgrimage coincides with Vatican estimates that as many as 32 million pilgrims could visit Rome during the jubilee.
Francis DeBernardo, executive director of the New Ways Ministry, which advocates for LGBTQ+ Catholics, said official church institutions were welcoming pilgrims and helping them tell their stories. The ministry helped organise some of the weekend’s activities, according to media reports.
The pilgrimage comes amid ongoing debate within the Roman Catholic Church about pastoral care for LGBTQ+ people. Pope Francis, who died in April, said in 2020 that "homosexual people have a right to be in a family" and that they are "children of God" who should not be marginalised. In 2023, he issued a decree allowing priests to bless same-sex and other "irregular" couples under certain circumstances, a move that prompted criticism from conservative Catholics, particularly in parts of Africa.
The Vatican subsequently said such blessings should not become part of regular liturgical rituals or be equated with civil unions or weddings, and reiterated the church’s teaching that marriage is between a man and a woman.
Pope Leo XIV has not publicly affirmed or repudiated the 2023 guidance, and Vatican officials did not announce any change to doctrine. Pilgrims and organisers said the Rome gatherings were intended as acts of faith and inclusion, rather than a challenge to church teaching.
Participants attended a series of liturgical events, vigils and communal prayers over the weekend. Organisers said the pilgrimage aimed to affirm that LGBTQ+ people are part of the Catholic community while seeking pastoral recognition and pastoral care within the church’s existing structures.
The weekend’s events unfolded against a wider context of jubilee celebrations drawing millions of faithful to Rome, and they highlighted continuing tensions within Catholicism as leaders balance calls for pastoral outreach with longstanding doctrinal positions.