U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has met Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican in an attempt to ease rising tensions between Washington and the Holy See.
Rubio travelled to Rome for talks with the first U.S.-born pope against the backdrop of strained relations, following criticism from President Donald Trump.
The U.S. president described the pope as “WEAK on crime, and terrible for foreign policy” after Leo called for peace in the Middle East conflict and urged an end to violence.
Rubio’s motorcade was seen arriving at the Vatican along Via della Conciliazione before entering the Apostolic Palace for a private audience with the pope. He is also scheduled to meet Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin.
Ahead of the visit, U.S. ambassador to the Holy See Brian Burch said the meeting would likely be a “frank conversation.”
Cardinal Parolin said the Vatican expected to discuss recent developments directly:
I imagine we’ll talk about everything that’s happened in recent days—we can’t avoid touching on these topics.
He added that broader international issues would also be addressed, including Cuba, Latin America, and Lebanon.
