Being Church together. The 3days of Albano Laziale returns with LGBTQ+ Christians and their families
If you are an LGBTQ+ person and you believe, even just a little… it's normal to often feel confused. It's normal to ask questions. It is normal to ask: but where am I in my church? Maybe you've thought: can I love like this... and remain within the faith? Can I be myself… without having to hide?
These are real questions. And they struggle... a lot. Here it is 3 days of spirituality for LGBTQ+ people, their families and pastoral workers that accompany them organized by La Tenda di Gionata , was born right there. In that slightly fragile, slightly uncertain point... where however something can open.
From 15 to 17 May 2026, we will be guests of the San girolamo Emiliani Reception House Of the Somaschi Fathers in Albano Laziale (Rome), around one hundred and twenty people arrived from all over Italy. LGBT+ Christians, but also parents and pastoral workers... all with different stories, but with the same desire: to understand if it is possible to live faith and life together.
The 3days is a space where you can start to breathe. And maybe that's what's missing, sometimes… not a perfect answer, but a place where you don't have to defend yourself. During those days you will listen to stories, meet people, you will be able to talk... or stay silent.
And there will also be people to help you find your way. We will deal with Elisa Belotti, co-author of The Church that (doesn't) want us. For a feminist and queer christianity, which will take us into the contradictions and possibilities of today's Catholic church; Gianluca Costa, doctor in psychological techniques, who will accompany listening and welcoming paths; don Luca Lunardon, teacher of relationship ethics, who will make the life that flows from the words of the Gospel resonate; Emilia Palladino, professor at the Pontifical Gregorian University, who will show us the changes that affect families, relationships and society... and therefore also the Catholic church; father Pino Piva, Jesuit, who has experienced the synodal path closely and will tell us what is really moving, also on issues related to LGBTQ+ people and their lives; And mgr. Vincenzo Viva, bishop of Albano, will share his shepherd's gaze with us.
And then you will find many moments of prayer and experiential workshops where you do not remain spectators. Where you listen, yes... but you also get involved. Where families, reception paths and experiences of faith and the Bible intertwine with our concrete life.
You don't need to be "fine" to participate in the 3 days. Just come as you are, with your questions, with your faith... even if it is fragile. It will only be three days... but sometimes three days are enough to start looking at things differently and to start again.
If you feel that this concerns you even just a little, you can find all the information on gionata.org/3days2026/ If you want to contact us at tendadigionata@gmail.com . We are waiting for you
TRAVEL NOTES:
Participants of the 3 days will be given a copy of the book "I trust you. Listening to LGBTQ+ Christian people and their parents", which arises from a simple question: “is it possible to be whole people, in one's identity, relationships and faith, without having to sacrifice a part of oneself?".
In the book, through the stories of Tiziano, Daniela, Lorenzo, Alessandra and Luisa, wounds, desires, conflicts and paths of recomposition emerge that led them to ask for help from first listen service “I trust you”. And the great thing... is that these stories won't just remain on paper: but some of these people will be present at 3days, to meet you, tell their stories and share their journey live. To discover their stories, click here
We will keep vigil in prayer over the catacomb of San Senatore of Albano Laziale with San Eufrosina-Smaragdo, a saint who crossed gender. For LGBTq+ believers, the story of Saint Euphrosyne becomes a particular sign: it shows that even when cross-dressing, gender torment or escape from the family have been used as tools of survival, God can embrace them and transform them into paths of holiness. It is not the disguise itself that makes Euphrosyne a saint, but her fidelity to Christ, her choice not to betray her own inner voice even in the face of forced marriage. Find out who this Saint is, click here.
