Pope Leo XIV is set to share a Sunday meal with a group of transgender Catholic activists, including Italian writer and advocate Alessia Nobile, during the Vatican’s Jubilee of the Poor. The gathering coincides with the World Day of the Poor, beginning with Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica and followed by a communal lunch honoring people who are homeless, vulnerable, or socially marginalized. Nobile, 46, was among five transgender women invited after she requested an audience with the new pontiff, who was born in Chicago and holds dual American and Peruvian citizenship.
The 69-year-old Pope was elected on 8 May, succeeding Pope Francis, who died at 88. Her hope, she says, is to preserve the inclusive spirit that Francis championed. She told the media, “I ask Leo not to go backwards on rights.” Nobile has been open about a past marked by rejection, including secret “exorcism” rites and pressure for electroshock therapy as a teen. Francis later became a mentor, urging her to share her story. Despite Pope Leo’s mixed statements on LGBTQ+ issues, Nobile believes her invitation signals continuity: the Church, she says, remains a home for all, “no one excluded.”
