Rome- In a powerful demonstration coinciding with the Vatican conclave, Catholic women’s rights activists released pink smoke near St. Peter’s Basilica, calling for the ordination of women and greater inclusion in Church leadership.
Organized by the Women’s Ordination Conference and Women’s Ordination Worldwide, the protest took place on Janiculum Hill, just outside Vatican City, as cardinals gathered to elect the next pope. The pink smoke was intended as a symbolic counter to the traditional white or black smoke released from the Sistine Chapel chimney to signal the outcome of papal voting.
“This is a spiritual distress signal,” said Kate McElwee, Executive Director of the Women’s Ordination Conference. “The Church continues to ignore the voices of women. We are here to remind them that half of the Catholic population remains excluded from leadership and sacramental ministry.”
The demonstrators carried placards reading “Ordain Women Now” and “The Church Needs Her,” and sang hymns as the pink smoke filled the air. Many wore stoles — the symbol of priestly authority — to express their readiness to serve as ordained ministers.
Despite decades of advocacy, the Roman Catholic Church has upheld its position that only men can be ordained as priests. While Pope Francis has opened certain roles to women within Vatican departments and allowed them to participate in some synodal discussions, no doctrinal changes regarding ordination have been made.
Activist Miriam Duignan of the Wijngaards Institute added, “Whoever the new pope is, he must confront the injustice that bars women from equal participation in the Church. Change is not just overdue—it’s essential.”
This protest marks one of the most visible calls for reform during a conclave in recent memory. As black smoke rose from the Sistine Chapel on the first day of voting, signaling that no pope had yet been elected, the pink smoke rising from Janiculum sent a different message — one of resistance, reform, and renewal.
The Vatican has not responded to the demonstration.
