A group of LGBTQ pilgrims has completed a symbolic journey to the Vatican, urging the Catholic Church to move beyond centuries of rejection and embrace them as an integral part of the faith community.
Among the pilgrims was 68-year-old Yveline Behets, a transgender woman from Brussels, who walked 130 kilometres (about 80 miles) with 30 others along part of the historic Via Francigena route.
Behets said she expected more openness from the Church after years of feeling sidelined by fellow Catholics.
“One should not misuse the word ‘welcome’,” she stressed. “We are not just some outsiders who are invited sometimes. We are part of the same family.”
Like millions of pilgrims before them, the group walked toward Saint Peter’s Basilica to step through the Holy Door, a powerful symbol of renewal and faith.
Earlier in the weekend, they joined a mass at the Church of the Gesu and held a prayer vigil, blending spirituality with their call for acceptance.
For Hugo, a 35-year-old from Quebec who joined the pilgrimage, the journey was more than symbolic. “It’s a really important signal for us to feel more included,” he said.
“I hope it helps people on the fence to be more welcoming toward homosexuals in the Church.”
Yet the road to inclusion remains steep. For over two millennia, Church doctrine has defined homosexual acts as incompatible with procreative marriage.
Even with the more compassionate approach introduced by Pope Francis, resistance persists especially from conservative branches in Africa and parts of Europe.
Francis, who passed away in April 2025, had authorized blessings for same-sex couples in 2023, sparking both joy and outrage.
His successor, Pope Leo XIV, has reaffirmed that marriage remains between a man and a woman but has pledged not to reverse Francis’s decision on blessings.
For many LGBTQ Catholics, however, symbolic blessings are not enough. They seek deeper recognition of their dignity and full participation in the sacraments.
Beatrice Sarti, a mother from Bologna accompanying her gay son, stressed that change must begin with education.
“Many of our children stop going to church because they are made to feel wrong,” she said.
“The first thing is to train educators, seminarians, priests, and bishops, starting from the grassroots.”
She admitted that transformation will take time, but the pilgrimage itself reflected hope.
For participants, walking together toward the Vatican was not only an act of faith but also a declaration: LGBTQ Catholics are not outsiders—they are part of the Church, and they are determined to be seen and heard.
The post Shock as Pope Leo Receives LGBTQ Pilgrimage at Vatican appeared first on Diaspora Digital Media DDM.
