The Vatican’s decision to host an LGBTQ pilgrimage during the 2025 Catholic Jubilee has sparked global interest and renewed debate over the Church’s evolving relationship with sexual minorities. More than 1,000 participants from across 30 countries are expected to gather in Rome from September 5–7 for a series of religious events, blending prayer, ritual, and dialogue. The occasion marks both an unprecedented moment of visibility for LGBTQ Catholics and a test for Pope Leo XIV, who inherited from Pope Francis a legacy of cautious openness toward sexual minorities but has taken a more conservative stance on doctrinal matters.

The Catholic Church’s Jubilee, or Holy Year, is traditionally a time of reflection, renewal, and pilgrimage. Declared every 25 years by the Pope, it draws millions of faithful to Rome to participate in religious observances and to pass through the Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica-a ritual symbolizing the path toward forgiveness and reconciliation.

The 2025 Jubilee runs from December 24, 2024, to January 6, 2026, and its official calendar has been notable for including, for the first time, a dedicated LGBTQ pilgrimage. The event was first listed in December 2024, under the leadership of Pope Francis, who passed away earlier this year. Francis had pursued an unprecedented degree of openness toward sexual minorities, authorizing priests to bless same-sex couples and softening restrictions on gay men entering the priesthood. His decision to include LGBTQ Catholics in the Jubilee calendar represented, for many, the culmination of his inclusive vision.

Now, with Francis’ successor Pope Leo XIV presiding over the Jubilee, the inclusion of LGBTQ pilgrims comes under new scrutiny.........

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