Pope Leo XIV held a private audience with Jesuit Father James Martin. Fr. Martin is leading a pilgrimage of LGBTQ Catholics to the Vatican for the Jubilee 2025.
Dear friends: God willing, I will be in Rome until Sept. 8, with the
@OutrchCatholic pilgrimage, along with 40 pilgrims. I would appreciate your traveling prayers for safety and a grace-filled time in Rome. (Also, no Friday faith sharing today and next week). Many thanks!
Following the meeting with Pope Leo XIV Fr. Martin posted photos with this insight:
Dear friends: I was profoundly grateful for my audience at the Apostolic Palace with the Holy Father
@Pontifex this morning. The message I received was that Pope Leo will be continuing with the same openness and that Francis showed to LGBTQ Catholics. I found Leo to be joyful, relaxed and serene. He is a joy to be with!
On a separate post he wrote:
Dear friends: I was honored and grateful to meet with the Holy Father
@Pontifex
this morning in an audience in the Apostolic Palace, and moved to hear the same message I heard from Pope Francis on LGBTQ Catholics, which is one of openness and welcome. I found Pope Leo to be serene, joyful, and encouraging. For me, it was a deeply consoling meeting. Please pray for the Holy Father!
Who is Fr. James Martin?
Fr. James J. Martin (age 64) is an American Jesuit priest, writer and editor of America magazine and the founder of Outreach (for LGBT+ Catholics). Pope Francis appointed Martin as one of 21 consultants to the Secretariat for Communications at the Vatican in 2017. In July 2023, it was announced that Martin was among the people specifically invited by Francis to take part in the final phase meetings of the Synod on Synodality. His outreach to people with same-sex attraction and gender dysphoria is the subject of his book Building a Bridge: How the Catholic Church and the LGBT Community Can Enter into a Relationship of Respect, Compassion, and Sensitivity.
Dear friends: I was profoundly grateful for my audience at the Apostolic Palace with the Holy Father
@Pontifex this morning. The message I received was that Pope Leo will be continuing with the same openness and that Francis showed to LGBTQ Catholics. I found Leo to be joyful, relaxed and serene. He is a joy to be with!
On a separate post he wrote:
Dear friends: I was honored and grateful to meet with the Holy Father
@Pontifex
this morning in an audience in the Apostolic Palace, and moved to hear the same message I heard from Pope Francis on LGBTQ Catholics, which is one of openness and welcome. I found Pope Leo to be serene, joyful, and encouraging. For me, it was a deeply consoling meeting. Please pray for the Holy Father!
Who is Fr. James Martin?
Fr. James J. Martin (age 64) is an American Jesuit priest, writer and editor of America magazine and the founder of Outreach (for LGBT+ Catholics). Pope Francis appointed Martin as one of 21 consultants to the Secretariat for Communications at the Vatican in 2017. In July 2023, it was announced that Martin was among the people specifically invited by Francis to take part in the final phase meetings of the Synod on Synodality. His outreach to people with same-sex attraction and gender dysphoria is the subject of his book Building a Bridge: How the Catholic Church and the LGBT Community Can Enter into a Relationship of Respect, Compassion, and Sensitivity.
Dear friends: I was profoundly grateful for my audience at the Apostolic Palace with the Holy Father @Pontifex this morning. The message I received was that Pope Leo will be continuing with the same openness and that Francis showed to LGBTQ Catholics. I found Leo to be joyful,… pic.twitter.com/igrY6kSjGF
— James Martin, SJ (@JamesMartinSJ) September 1, 2025
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