Posted on 07/26/2025 10:49:09 AM PDT by ebb tide
2025 is a Jubilee Year, a major Catholic event held every 25 years that brings people from all over the world to Rome to pray, pass through the holy doors of selected churches, and take part in other spiritual activities to renew their faith. And this year, LGBTQ+ Catholics want to be an organized part of the Jubillee.
For the first time in church history, LGBTQ+ Catholic groups are getting ready to participate in the Jubilee, not in spite of their queerness, but through it. On September 6th, they will gather for a prayer vigil and walk in prayer as a pilgrimage to Saint Peter’s Basilica, sharing their identities and their faith. The event is being organized by La Tenda di Gionata (Jonathan’s Tent), an Italian LGBTQ+ organization, and is being co-sponsored by many other Catholic LGBTQ+ groups around the globe, including New Ways Ministry.
These believers want to pray and reflect with the Church, offering their experience of faith and their queer lives as a path to encounter God.
I spoke with Tiziano Fani Braga, one of the leaders of La Tenda di Gionata and an organizer of the LGBTQ+ Jubilee Pilgrimage, to understand the spirit behind this initiative and how the community is preparing to walk together in faith.
How did the idea of participating in the Jubilee as LGBTQ+ Christians come about?
It came about in 2024 in Bologna, during a meal at Villa San Giuseppe, a Jesuit retreat center. We were at the end of a weekend retreat for LGBTQ+ pastoral workers. At some point, I just said: “Everyone has a Jubilee, why don’t we?”.
Then we realized we wanted to express our joy, to give thanks to the Lord for what we’ve lived, and to pray for what is yet to come. So we wrote a letter to the Vatican’s Jubilee Secretariat office. Their affirmative reply came at the end of that summer, and from that moment we began preparing our Jubilee.
Tiziano Fani Braga
How did you reach LGBTQ+ Christians around the world?
We tried to involve all LGBTQ+ Christian groups, both nationally and internationally. The idea was twofold: on the one hand, to build community; on the other, to show the Church that these groups exist and have been active for years. We didn’t expect such a huge response. We received over 1,000 registrations, mostly from Italy but also from countries like the USA, Brazil and Ghana.
At one point, this LGBTQ+ Jubilee event was included in the Vatican’s official Jubilee calendar, but then it was removed. The removal raised doubts about the real intentions of the Jubilee Secretariat. At that point, Pope Francis’s support for the initiative was vital. Thanks to his intervention, we were able to continue with serenity.
Which kinds of events are you planning?
We are planning two main events: a prayer vigil, hosted by the Jesuits, and a Mass, preceded by a pilgrimage toward Saint Peter’s Basilica.
The purpose of participating is not protest, but rather encounter, prayer and reflection for us and for the Church. It’s a way to say: “Look at us, recognize us. We are Christians too. We are all baptized in the same way”. We want to build a dialogue.
How are you getting ready? Which issues are you exploring in preparation for the Jubilee?
As preparation for the Jubilee, we organized some online meetings with the spokespeople of the different sponsoring groups. We studied the historical meaning of the Jubilee, starting from the Bible and Hebrew tradition.Gian Luca Carrega, a priest and biblical scholar, helped us greatly with our study.
Then we shared experiences from people who had previously taken part in previous Jubilees, World Youth Days or other major church events, but not as openly LGBTQ+ Catholic people. Of course, we couldn’t avoid talking about the harassment that happened during World Youth Day in Lisbon in 2023 when an LGBTQ+ Mass was interrupted by conservatives singing in Latin. They rainbow flags and made verbal assaults at the prayer vigil with Pope Francis, forcing queer people to leave the event because they were in danger.
What are your feelings about such negative actions?
We know that they could happen again. There could be criticism or even counter-protests. But what we shared most of all was a strong, collective desire to make ourselves heard, no matter what. A desire to overcome hostility, conflict and pain, which doesn’t just occur at major Church events, but often in parishes and everyday life.
Our hope is that every LGBTQ+ Catholics can live a spiritual path that is both rich and enriching. We are no longer talking just about welcome, but about recognition and value. We are all God’s children. And I can say that we are very well prepared, maybe because we’ve had to defend our faith journey with strength and determination.
Jesus’ message is for everyone, so there should be no discrimination against anyone.
–Elisa Belotti, July 22, 2025
> Jesus’ message is for everyone, so there should be no discrimination against anyone. <
Well, that’s true. Love the sinner. Hate the sin.
Unfortunately, that’s morphed into: Love the sinner. Celebrate the sin.
🙁
Seems like that is pretty much what has happened. Love the sinner & try to help them, but that does not include celebrating the sin. If you read & understand the Bible,it seems clear to me what it says about NOT celebrating the sin.
Sin is not to be celebrated in any form.
When a person becomes proud of their sin, then all is lost for them. God has given them up.
One idea:
Quit making the whole Gay Thing out to be your god that you worship, and just worship the real God.
Forget all that perversion stuff.
One idea:
Quit making the whole Gay Thing out to be your god that you worship, and just worship the real God.
Forget all that perversion stuff.
“We want to build a dialogue.” I like a civil discourse among human beings, but not that way.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.