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3w ago

LGBT+ Pilgrims Cross St. Peter’s Holy Door in First Official Jubilee Listing

Calendar inclusion plus a papally blessed Mass mark new visibility without altering church teaching.

Una procesión se movilizó a la plaza de San Pedro.
Cientos de católicos arcoíris de todo el mundo cruzarán en peregrinación la puerta de la Basílica de San Pedro, en la Ciudad del Vaticano
Hundreds of LGBTQ+ Catholics and their families who joined a Holy Year pilgrimage to Rome, which celebrates a new level of acceptance in the Catholic Church, and who are crediting Pope Francis for the change, walk toward St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican, Saturday, Sept. 6, 2025. (Mauro Scrobogna / LaPresse via AP)
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Overview

  • Roughly 1,300 to 1,400 participants from more than 20 countries entered St. Peter’s through the Holy Door, led by a rainbow‑colored cross and observing organizers’ request to forgo flags.
  • Bishop Francesco Savino celebrated a packed Mass at the Church of the Gesù and said Pope Leo XIV encouraged him to “go celebrate” the gathering.
  • Vatican organizers stressed that placement on the Jubilee calendar grants access but does not constitute sponsorship or signal doctrinal change.
  • Jesuit James Martin reported after a Sept. 1 audience that Pope Leo XIV intends to continue Pope Francis’s welcoming pastoral tone toward LGBTQ+ Catholics.
  • The pilgrimage was convened by Italy’s La Tenda di Gionata with groups including Outreach, and included testimonies of renewed belonging as some pilgrims arrived via the 130‑km Via Francigena walk.