Archbishop of Milan Celebrates Mass for LGBT Catholics on the Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus

In Milan, Italy, Archbishop Mario Delpini celebrated a Mass for a local Catholic LGBT group and their allies. The service took place on June 12, 2026, at the Church of San Carlo al Lazzaretto. About 50 people attended. It was organized by Il Gruppo del Guado, a group that supports LGBT individuals in their spiritual lives.

The Mass coincided with the Catholic Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. The entire month of June in the Catholic Church is traditionally dedicated to this devotion. In recent years, some conservative church leaders have used the Feast of the Sacred Heart to contrast with Pride Month, which the LGBT community also observes in June. Archbishop Delpini, however, combined the two events.

In his homily, he spoke about inclusivity and emphasized that God loves every person. “The Lord has bound himself to you and chosen you, not because you are the most numerous people—indeed, you are the smallest—but because he loves you,” Delpini said.

The Archbishop has previously made gestures toward minorities, for which he faced criticism from conservatives. For example, during an ordination of priests, he called for a church “as colorful as the cathedral’s stained glass windows, flooded with light.” He also allowed Muslim children to perform their prayers at a Catholic youth center during summer activities and sent greetings to Muslims at the end of Ramadan.

Francis DeBernardo, executive director of the Catholic LGBT advocacy organization New Ways Ministry, supported the Milanese archbishop’s initiative. According to him, Delpini showed that the Feast of the Sacred Heart and Pride Month can be combined to convey a message of unconditional love for people who often face societal exclusion.