Pope Leo XIV met with four transgender women during a mid-November lunch held as part of the Vatican’s Jubilee of the Poor, marking a rare public interaction between a pope and members of the transgender community. The gathering drew international attention due to ongoing questions about the Church’s direction on LGBTQ+ issues under the new pontiff.
One of the attendees, Italian transgender activist Alesia Nobile, said she hoped the meeting would encourage the Pope to continue supporting basic rights. “I hope this lunch will be an opportunity to speak to him and ask him not to backtrack on rights,” she told La Stampa.
Nobile previously had a close friendship with the late Pope Francis, which she said “changed everything.” She recalled that Francis often greeted her and other transgender women personally during weekly audiences. “Pope Francis immediately became a light in my journey as a believer,” she said. “He always wanted the front row for us transgender women.”
Asked what she hoped to say to Pope Leo XIV, Nobile said she wanted to appeal to his sense of continuity. “I would say to him, ‘I’m Francis’ friend, do you want to be the father of all of us transgender women?’”
Leo XIV, the first U.S.-born Pope, assumed the papacy in May and is widely viewed as a successor to Francis’ legacy, though with a more cautious tone. Earlier this year, he reaffirmed the Church’s position that marriage is “between a man and a woman,” while also confirming that blessings for same-sex couples would continue on a case-by-case basis, following a practice introduced under Francis.
Before the lunch, Pope Leo had already shown openness to meeting LGBTQ+ advocates. In September, he met Jesuit priest and author Fr. James Martin, who said he heard a message of “openness and welcome.” In October, Leo also received the reform group We Are Church during Vatican celebrations, marking their first appearance in that setting.
Despite uncertainty about Leo’s long-term direction, Nobile said she remains hopeful. “Silence is consent,” she said. “I’m sure he shares Francis’s work and is waiting for the right moment. I feel that moment is near.”
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