A group of transgender people took part in the LGBTQ+ jubilee at the Vatican Saturday, joining the crowd walking down Via Della Conciliazione and passing through the Holy Door.

Many of the pilgrims attributed their feeling of welcome to the late Pope Francis.

More than any of his predecessors, Francis distinguished himself with a message of welcome, from his 2013 quip, “Who am I to judge?” about a purportedly gay priest, to his decision to allow priests to bless same-sex couples.

He never changed church teaching saying homosexual acts are “intrinsically disordered.”

But during his 12-year papacy from 2013 to 2025, Francis met with LGBTQ+ advocates, ministered to a community of trans women and, in a 2023 interview with The Associated Press, declared that “being homosexual is not a crime.”

Several LGBTQ+ groups participated in the pilgrimage, which was listed in the Vatican’s official calendar of events for the Holy Year, the once-every-quarter century celebration of Catholicism.

Vatican organizers stressed that the listing in the calendar didn't signal endorsement or sponsorship, but was a logistical tool to help organizers and pilgrims alike.

The main sponsor of the pilgrimage was an Italian LGBTQ+ advocacy organization, “Jonathan’s Tent,” but other groups participated, including a group of trans women from southern Rome, DignityUSA and Outreach, another U.S. group, as well as the Brazilian National Network of LGBT+ Catholic Groups.

AP video and production by Trisha Thomas