Bishop Savino reveals Pope Leo XIV urged him to celebrate Mass for LGBT Catholics at a Vatican pilgrimage, sparking debate on inclusion and doctrine.
Newsroom (19/09/2025, Gaudium Press ) Bishop Francesco Savino, vice-president of the Italian Bishops’ Conference, revealed that Pope Leo XIV personally encouraged him to celebrate a Mass for LGBT Catholics during a historic pilgrimage in the Jubilee year. The disclosure, made during a homily at the Church of the Gesù in Rome, has sparked both praise and controversy within Catholic circles.
Speaking to a congregation of over 1,400 LGBT Catholics, their families, and supporters from some 20 countries, Bishop Savino recounted a private audience with Pope Leo XIV in August. He said the Pope urged him “with great tenderness” to preside over the liturgy, organized by La Tenda di Gionata, an Italian group advocating for greater inclusivity in the Church. “When I informed the Holy Father of the invitation, he told me to go and celebrate the Jubilee with those in attendance,” Savino said.
The Mass, part of an international Vatican gathering, marked an unprecedented moment for the Catholic Church. Participants hailed the event as a powerful symbol of diversity and inclusion, with the choice of the Church of the Gesù—mother church of the Jesuits and located near the Vatican—adding significant symbolic weight.
In his homily, Bishop Savino emphasized the universal dignity of all people before God. “Christians are called to restore dignity to all, especially those to whom it has been denied,” he said, invoking the Jubilee as a time of liberation and renewal. Drawing on St. Isidore of Seville, Pope Francis’s Evangelii Gaudium, and Cardinal José Cobo of Madrid, he underscored a message of hope rooted in Christ, insisting that “nobody should feel excluded” from the Church’s life.
The bishop’s revelation of papal encouragement has ignited debate. Some Catholic commentators argue that liturgies for LGBT Catholics risk blurring doctrinal lines, warning that such public events could sow confusion about the Church’s teachings on sexuality and marriage. In a recent Crux interview, Pope Leo XIV adopted a cautious tone, affirming that “everyone is invited in” as children of God but stressing that changes to Church doctrine on sexuality or marriage are “highly unlikely, certainly in the near future.”
Bishop Savino, 69, has served as bishop of Cassano all’Jonio in Calabria since 2015 and was elected vice-president of the Italian Bishops’ Conference in 2021. A former hospital chaplain, he is widely respected in Italy for his pastoral work with the poor and marginalized. His participation in the Mass represents one of the most prominent endorsements of LGBT Catholics by an Italian prelate to date.
The event has been celebrated by supporters as a step toward greater inclusivity, though critics remain wary of its implications. As the Jubilee year continues, the Church navigates the delicate balance between pastoral outreach and doctrinal clarity, with Bishop Savino’s homily and Pope Leo’s encouragement signaling a moment of significant reflection for the global Catholic community.
- Raju Hasmukh with files from Catholic Herald
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