By Joshua McElwee
VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - The Vatican has included an event organised by LGBT Catholics on its official online calendar for the upcoming 2025 Roman Catholic Holy Year, in an unusual sign of openness by the global Church toward the gay community.
A pilgrimage by the Italian group "La Tenda di Gionata" (Jonathan's Tent), set for next September, is listed among the hundreds of events planned for the Jubilee, which is expected to bring some 32 million tourists to Rome next year.
The group, which describes its goal as to promote the welcoming of LGBT people within the Church, is expected to host a prayer vigil at a local Rome parish before making a trip to St. Peter's Basilica.
A Vatican official told Reuters the inclusion of the group on the calendar did not imply support of its events.
"They are not sponsored activities," said Agnese Palmucci, a spokesperson for the Vatican's evangelization office, which is organising the Jubilee.
Rome is the global centre of the Catholic Holy Year, which opens on Dec. 24, Christmas Eve, and runs through Jan. 6, 2026. Jubilees like this normally occur once every 25 years.
Catholic pilgrims who come to Rome during the Jubilee can pass through special "Holy Doors" that will be open at St. Peter's and three other basilicas in Rome.
The Vatican is primarily concerned about ensuring all pilgrims have a chance to pass through the "Holy Doors", said Palmucci.
"Once it is ascertained that there is space, we insert the pilgrimage into the general calendar," she said.
Pope Francis has been credited with leading the Catholic Church into taking a more welcoming approach towards the LGBT community, and has allowed priests to bless same-sex couples on a case-by-case basis.
(Reporting by Joshua McElwee, editing by Alvise Armellini, William Maclean)
