Spanish LGBTQ+ Catholic Group Participated in Pope Leo’s Visit

When Pope Leo XIV visited to Spain in June, the Archdiocese of Madrid invited members of CRISMHOM, an LGBTQI+ Catholic organization in Spain, to take part in an event with Pope Leo, marking the first time an organization of this kind has received an explicit invitation to a papal event in Spain. 

On June 7th, Pope Leo hosted “Weaving Networks with the Worlds of Culture, Art, the Economy and Sport,” an event which brought together artists, athletes, business leaders, and academics to discuss how to continue to foster dialogue between the Church and contemporary society. The Archdiocese of Madrid specifically extended an invitation to CRISMHOM to take part in the event. (CRISMHOM is an acronym for “Christians of Madrid Homosexuals.”)

Members of CRISMHOM participate in event with Pope Leo XIV.

Ramón Legaspi Yrimia, president of CRISMHOM, told the news outlet Articulo 14 that even the simple act of being invited to the event spoke volumes:

“[Being present at the event] means visibility. It means that the diverse Church exists and has a voice. It means that we, as LGBTI people, are part of the Church, not something foreign to it. Being here today, invited by the Archdiocese of Madrid, is a message in itself. We aren’t forcing a door open; it has been opened for us.”

Yrimia described CRISMHOM as a meeting place– a space where two communities that are viewed by some as separate worlds can come together. The goal of CRISMHOM, he says, is to heal pain and build bridges. To be recognized and invited to this papal event shows how far the group has come and how crucial their work continues to be. 

When asked what he would say to Pope Leo if given the chance, Yrimia remarked:

“[I would tell him] not to be afraid. To remember that phrase from Pope Francis: ‘Todos, todos, todos’ (‘Everyone, everyone, everyone.’) The LGBTI community is deeply eager to help build the Church. We are people with a very special charism. Lesbians, trans, bisexual, and intersex people—we all have a great capacity to give love and to serve. We need a recognized place within the Church where that charism can shine.

“I hope the Pope sees us not as a problem to be solved or a group to be managed, but as brothers and sisters who are part of his Church and who are here, in this space, with the same faith and the same hope as everyone else. If that happens—even for just a second—it will have been worth it.”

The Global Network of Rainbow Catholics, an umbrella organization of Catholic LGBTQ+ groups, of which New Ways Ministry is a founding member, reflected upon CRISMHOM’s inclusion at the event with thanksgiving, heralding the encounter as a sign of continuing progress despite ongoing struggles in Catholic LGBTQ+ acceptance:

“The invitation to CRISMHOM for the papal meeting does not remove the differences that exist between countries, dioceses, parishes and pastoral practices. Many LGBT+ Catholics continue to face exclusion, discrimination or silence in their families, communities and societies. At the same time, the Madrid experience showed how local relationships, pastoral trust and shared work can create spaces of encounter within the Church. Those slip streams of encounters and ministry lead to bigger pools of encounter and public affirmation in our Church.”

Indeed, each loving encounter–whether as grand as participating in a papal audience or as intimate as a one-on-one conversation– helps to build the reality in which LGBTQ+ persons are fully embraced within our Church.

—Phoebe Carstens, New Ways Ministry, July 13, 2026