Cardinal: Same-sex couples welcome to request blessings at St. Peter’s Basilica

Cardinal Mauro Gambetti, OFM Conv, Archpriest of St. Peter’s Basilica and the Pope’s vicar general for Vatican City, said at a press conference that same-sex couples are welcome to request blessings in St. Peter’s Basilica - though no such blessings, to his knowledge, had been requested.

Such blessings, he said, “show the world the maternal face of the Church.”

“The underlying theme is the Church’s closeness to people in whatever situation they find themselves,” he added.