Pope Leo XIV is preparing to host a Sunday lunch with five transgender individuals — including one of Italy’s most outspoken transgender activists — in a move that is already stirring unease among Catholics wary of continued ideological drift inside the Vatican.
The gathering, part of the Jubilee of the Poor, will bring hundreds of “marginalised people” into the Paul VI Hall to dine with the Holy Father immediately after Mass, reports the Catholic Herald.
Among the invited guests is Alessia Nobile, a prominent transgender activist, biological male, and self-described transgender woman. Italian media reports that Nobile personally requested a meeting with the new Pope, expressing fear that the Church might “turn back on LGBTQ rights” following the death of Pope Francis, whom Nobile considered a personal friend.
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Nobile, 46, says the lunch will offer a chance to befriend Pope Leo. “I hope this will be an opportunity to speak to him and ask him not to backtrack on rights,” she told Italian outlets.
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She also recounted her long relationship with Pope Francis, saying the late pontiff would greet her at Wednesday audiences even while visibly ailing.
“Pope Francis immediately became a light in my journey as a believer… The Holy Father always wanted the front row for us transgender women.”
According to Italian press, this would be the first time a transgender rights advocate has participated in a papal meal of this kind — a symbolic extension of pastoral outreach that many Catholics see as a continuation of the late pontiff’s controversial approach to gender ideology.
When asked what message she hoped to deliver to Pope Leo, Nobile responded: “I’m Francis’ friend — do you want to be the father of all of us transgender women?”
Notably, Nobile views Pope Leo’s silence on transgender issues as a positive sign, suggesting it implies alignment with Francis’ direction.
“They say ‘silence is consent.’ I’m sure Pope Leo shares Francis’s work and is just waiting for the right moment to embrace our reality.”
While the Church upholds the dignity of all people — including those who identify as transgender — its teaching on human sexuality remains clear and unchanged. Catholic doctrine stresses that biological sex is part of God’s intentional design, inseparable from personal identity. Medical or social transition, according to Church teaching, attempts to redefine what God has created.
The Church’s doctrinal office reaffirmed this earlier in the year in Dignitas Infinita, stating:
“Any sex-change intervention, as a rule, risks threatening the unique dignity the person has received from the moment of conception.”
