Bishop Francesco Savino, vice-president of the Italian Bishops’ Conference, has disclosed that Pope Leo XIV personally encouraged him to celebrate Mass for LGBT Catholics during a recent Jubilee year pilgrimage.
During his homily at the Church of the Gesù in Rome on 6 September, Bishop Savino said that in a private audience with the Pope the previous month he was urged “with great tenderness” to preside at the liturgy.
The homily and Mass occurred as part of an international gathering at the Vatican of LGBT Catholics, their families and friends, which was organised by the Italian pastoral group La Tenda di Gionata, an Italian association lobbying for greater inclusivity among the faithful.
