For the first time, the Vatican will host the pro-reform Catholic group We Are Church during Holy Year celebrations in October.

Eight representatives will attend a Jubilee of synodal teams and participatory bodies from October 24–26, Vatican officials confirmed.

Founded in 1995, We Are Church has long criticized the Catholic hierarchy on issues including sexual abuse, women’s ordination, and LGBTQ+ inclusion.

The group has called for an “end to the exclusion of LGBTQ persons” and supports blessings for same-sex couples.

Pope Leo XVI, the first U.S.-born pope, has taken a cautious approach to LGBTQ+ reform.

While he maintains that marriage is “between a man and a woman,” he has upheld Pope Francis’ provision allowing priests to bless same-sex couples on a case-by-case basis.

Christian Weisner, a cofounder of We Are Church, told Vatican Radio: “We were pleased that this meeting of synodal teams and bodies of the World Synod will also take place in the Vatican as part of the Holy Year, and that the invitation was open.”

He added: “I also see the passage through the Holy Door as a sign for the Church as a whole: to leave mistakes behind and to set out again and again in Christian hope.”