The newly appointed Pope Leo of the Vatican has already stirred controversy. At the annual ‘Lunch for the Poor’ held on Sunday, he could be seen giving a direct cold shoulder to a group of 48 trans women. The fact that they were made to sit aloof and quite distanced from the Pope’s head table did not go unnoticed by many. It must be noted that these trans women had a cordial equation with the late Pope Francis and was welcomed twice by him at his own table, back in 2023 and 2024.
With Pope Leo’s gesture of keeping the trans women away from him and his table, sparked speculation about the Vatican’s new direction. This time, they were made to sit at separate tables throughout the massive Paul VI Hall. Whether it was unintentional or not, this move by the latest Pope of the Vatican ended up raising questions among onlookers. It appears that the group lost a prominent place and undermined the outreach transgender Catholics. Noted Italian trans author Alessia Nobile expressed her dissatisfaction at Pope Leo not being as warm as Pope Francis.
The headline of this WaPo “article” is:
Transwomen Attend Vatican Event with Pope Leo, but not at Head Table
It’s the annual “lunch for the poor” — so why the focus on mentally unstable men in lipstick, FFS? pic.twitter.com/StZAzPOrvx
— Christina Dalcher (@CV_Dalcher) November 16, 2025
She revealed getting only the slightest opportunity to hand the new Pope a letter, which he accepted with a fleeting smile and moved on. For the rest of the time, they never got a chance to come up close and speak with him. Alessia remarked, “That he’d mingle, that he [sat] close to [us], that’s a good sign, right?”, conveying her uncertainty on whether Pope Leo will have the same acceptance towards the trans community.
With other trans community members and netizens raising questions on such indifference shown towards the particular group of trans women, the Vatican’s response has been crystal clear. The organizers assured that there was no conspiracy theory in play and that the seating arrangements had been made randomly. They ruled out any kind of bias and foul play at work, dismissing majorly doubts of Pope Leo’s alleged unacceptance of the trans community.
All in all, the lunch, which was supposed to serve as a continuation of Pope Francis’s high-profile outreach towards LGBTQ+ Catholics, ended up being the exact opposite. The massive gathering, which was also attended by 1300 migrants, homeless visitors, disabled members, and even those from low-income families, became the talk of the town purely because of the apparent dismissal of the group of transwomen.
Does anyone actually believe this was organised by Pope Leo? Or is it something arranged by the Francis cronies still in power? pic.twitter.com/HlNOygYiHB
— Mark Lambert (@sitsio) November 17, 2025
According to reports, Pope Leo welcomed the guests to the lunch after being strongly backed by Pope Francis’s love for them. But instead of giving everyone a proper welcome near the papal, the new pontiff skipped it all, gave a blessing, and dived into the meal of lasagna and chicken cutlets prepared for everyone. Meanwhile, by the time the group of transwomen arrived, they were surprised to see that their access to the head table had vanished without a trace. It left them without any chance to speak with Pope Leo.
Rev. Andrea Conocchia, the liberal priest who administers the Torvaianica trans community, summed up the situation inside the hall and mentioned, “We weren’t able to meet the Pope. But they still had us sit at tables very, very close to the Pope.” Defending the Vatican’s side on the matter, Cardinal Konrad Krajewski, who has organized this event for the longest time beside Pope Francis, reiterated that the entire arrangement was made with no malicious intent.
Speaking with the Washington Post, he highlighted that the head tables were assigned randomly to parishioners who had already attended the previous mass. Since the transwomen arrived late, they had gotten seats far away. In his words, “The church is open to everyone. It’s not about [Leo] meaning to carry on this outreach. They came because they’re an integral part of the church, that is all.”
