Some 1,400 Catholics wearing rainbow attire and carrying crosses took part in the first officially recognised LGBTQ+ pilgrimage to Rome, processing through St. Peter's Basilica's Holy Door as part of the Roman Catholic Church's Jubilee Year.
Pilgrims from about 20 countries attended prayer vigils, Masses and other events across the weekend, organisers said. The procession through the Holy Door — which opens only for jubilee years, roughly once every 25 years, and is meant to symbolise reconciliation — was a focal point of the group’s activities. The pilgrims will not have a private audience with Pope Leo XIV.
The pilgrimage is taking place amid larger jubilee celebrations expected to draw millions: Vatican officials have said roughly 32 million pilgrims may come to Rome this year. The group includes Catholics who have long sought greater recognition and pastoral care within the Church. New Ways Ministry, which advocates for LGBTQ+ Catholics, said official Church institutions have helped facilitate events and provide platforms for people to tell their stories.
"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, said in comments reported by the National Catholic Reporter.
The pilgrimage follows a series of gestures under Pope Francis toward greater pastoral outreach to LGBTQ+ people, without changing Church doctrine that defines marriage as between a man and a woman. In 2020, Francis said "homosexual people have a right to be in a family" and that they "are children of God... nobody should be thrown out or made miserable over it." In 2023, he issued a decree allowing priests to bless same-sex and other "irregular" couples under certain circumstances, a move that sparked criticism from conservative Catholics, notably in parts of Africa.
The late Pope Francis, who died in April, issued the 2023 guidance but the Vatican also emphasised that such blessings should not become part of regular Church rituals or be equated with civil unions or weddings. Pope Leo XIV, elected in May, has not publicly addressed the LGBTQ+ community or commented on his predecessor's 2023 decree.
Participants and advocates described the pilgrimage as historically significant because it was given formal recognition within the framework of the jubilee, and because it involved official Church venues and programming. Pilgrims said the events were intended as both a spiritual observance and a public affirmation of belonging within the Catholic community.
Organisers said the pilgrimage included people of diverse ages and national backgrounds and that events would continue through the weekend. Vatican officials did not announce any formal change to Church teaching in connection with the pilgrimage, and the Holy See reiterated that doctrine on marriage remains unchanged.