Their group was the elephant in the room.

For the first time ever, a delegation of American gay and lesbian Catholics were in the VIP seats at a public papal audience in the Vatican.

Pope Francis did not mention New Ways Ministry in his remarks Wednesday.

They were identified on the list of attendees only as a “group of lay people accompanied by a Sister of Loreto.”

And when a Vatican official read out the list of the groups that made the pilgrimage to St. Peter’s Square, he skipped over them altogether.

But they were there. And veteran Vatican watcher David Gibson says that is a very big deal.

“It’s a substantial change of direction for the Catholic Church, not just a symbolic move,” Gibson, of the Religion News Service, told The Daily News.

“In the past, such groups or individuals would never be formally acknowledged in any way — not even a response to a letter — for fear that some could view such an attitude as approval,” he said. “Now Francis is saying the Church must cast aside such fears.”

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