The Diocese of St Gallen in Switzerland has included a poster in its “Ich bin dabei” (“I’m in”) lay participation campaign that explicitly asks: “Working together to pave the way for the election of the first female pope? I’m in.”

The poster, displaying a laywoman’s face, is part of a broader initiative launched in May and displayed in about 25 towns and villages across the diocese. The campaign website includes the German phrase “Gemeinsam den Weg zur Wahl der ersten Päpstin ebnen?”, meaning “Together, pave the way for the election of the first female pope?”

The campaign website accompanying the poster declares that the diocese actively promotes equality between men and women. It states: “For the Catholic Church in the Diocese of St Gallen, it is clear: women must be treated as equals to men – in all circumstances.”

A dedicated section entitled “A church with women” adds: “Our work is aimed at everyone who believes women should have the same rights as men and who wants to eliminate gender inequality … Through relevant projects, innovative ideas and female leaders, we promote the status of women in the Church. Let us build a church community where gender plays no role and everyone has the same rights and responsibilities.”

The Catholic Church teaches that priestly ordination is reserved to men alone. In his 1994 apostolic letter Ordinatio Sacerdotalis, Pope St John Paul II declared definitively: “I declare that the Church has no authority whatsoever to confer priestly ordination on women and that this judgment is to be definitively held by all the Church’s faithful.” This teaching has been consistently upheld by the Magisterium.

The Diocese of St Gallen has a documented history of progressive positions on ecclesial matters. It served as the meeting place for the so-called St Gallen group, a network of cardinals and bishops who gathered between 1995 and 2006.

In 2025, shortly after his election, Pope Leo XIV appointed Fr Beat Grögli, a supporter of women’s ordination, as the new Bishop of St Gallen. At the time of his appointment, Bishop Grögli had publicly asserted that “the women’s priesthood will come”, while adding that the path must be walked together with the universal Church. The diocese announced his appointment by Pope Leo XIV in May 2025.

The “Ich bin dabei” campaign was launched with the stated aims of encouraging greater lay involvement and features posters addressing topics such as care for the poor, clerical abuse and diversity. The Diocese of St Gallen said the campaign, launched on May 4, is intended to make visible the Church’s “diverse commitment to society” through posters, print and online advertising, a dedicated website and social media.

The poster promoting a female Pope has drawn criticism for its perceived incongruence with settled doctrine rather than remaining within the bounds of legitimate discussion on women’s roles and lay participation.

The diocese has not issued any public clarification distancing itself from the poster’s implications. Similar initiatives in the region have previously drawn scrutiny from Rome and from Catholics committed to doctrinal continuity. Further details of the campaign’s activities and any response from the Swiss Bishops’ Conference are expected in the coming months. The episode is likely to fuel continued debate about the direction of pastoral initiatives in certain Swiss and German-speaking dioceses.