A gay couple from D.C. took part in an LGBTQ pilgrimage to the Vatican on Saturday.

Jim Sweeney and his husband, the Rev. Jason Carson Wilson, were two of the more than 1,200 people who participated in the pilgrimage that took place during the Catholic Church’s 2025 Jubilee.

The pilgrims entered St. Peter’s Basilica through its Holy Door, which CNN notes symbolizes forgiveness and reconciliation. (The year-long Jubilee began on Christmas Eve when then-Pope Francis opened the Holy Door.)

The pilgrims on Sept. 5 attended a Mass that took place at Rome’s Church of the Gesù.

DignityUSA in a press release notes the pilgrimage is the first-ever LGBTQ pilgrimage the Vatican has recognized.

“We’re really, really excited,” Sweeney, a member of Dignity Washington, told the Washington Blade duri

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