Pope Leo 14 and the United States Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, jointly pledged in a meeting on Thursday (7) to improve relations between the Vatican and Washington, at a moment when President Donald Trump has repeatedly attacked the pontiff.
Leo and Rubio “renewed the shared commitment to promote good bilateral relations,” the Vatican said in a statement after the first meeting between the pope and a Trump administration official in almost a year, amid a tense atmosphere with Washington.
Leo, the first pope of the United States, drew Trump’s ire after becoming a firm critic of the U.S. and Israel’s war against Iran and of the Trump administration’s hard-line immigration policies.
The American president has maintained an unprecedented streak of public attacks on the pope in recent weeks, drawing reaction from Christian leaders across the political spectrum.
The Rubio-Leo meeting is a sign of a “strong” relationship between the Vatican and the United States, said State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott.
Rubio spent two and a half hours at the Vatican before leaving in a heavily guarded motorcade. He also met with senior Vatican officials, including the top diplomat, Italian Cardinal Pietro Parolin.
The U.S. Embassy to the Holy See said on X that Leo and Rubio had discussed “topics of mutual interest in the Western Hemisphere.”
The Vatican statement said the two had “exchanged views” on the world situation and spoke about “the need to work tirelessly for peace.”
“Peace Plant”
The meeting appears to have lasted longer than planned. The pope arrived 40 minutes late for a subsequent meeting with Vatican staff and thanked them for their patience.
The Vatican video of the opening of the closed-door meeting showed Leo shaking his guest’s hand and addressing him formally as “Mr. Secretary,” to which Rubio, a Catholic, replied: “It is a pleasure to see you.”
Rubio was also seen presenting the pope with a small crystal American football. He joked that he knew Leo, originally from Chicago and known as a White Sox fan, was more of a “baseball guy.”
Leo gave Rubio a small pen made from olive wood, which he called “the peace plant.”
Rubio had said in a White House meeting on Tuesday (5) that he expected to discuss Cuba and concerns about religious freedom around the world with the pope. The U.S. ambassador to the Holy See, Brian Burch, also said on Tuesday that the talk between Leo and Rubio would likely be “frank.”
In his public criticism of the pope, Trump falsely suggested on Monday (4) that Leo believed there was no problem with Iran obtaining nuclear weapons and that he was “putting many Catholics at risk” by opposing the war.
Leo told journalists after the latest attack that he was spreading the Christian message of peace. The pope also strongly rejected the idea that he supported nuclear weapons, which the Catholic Church teaches to be immoral.
When Rubio arrived at the Vatican on Thursday, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk was leaving a meeting with Leo. He told journalists that he and the pope discussed how to strengthen international cooperation and generate hope in the world.
“It is still possible that the world does not have to fall into chaos if good people, well-intentioned people, meet and act in unity,” Tusk said, speaking in Polish.
More incisive
Leo, who on Friday marks his first year leading the 1.4 billion-member church, has become more incisive on the world stage in recent weeks.
During a tour of four African countries last month, he vehemently criticized the direction of global leadership and said the world was “being devastated by a handful of tyrants,” in remarks he later said were not directed at Trump personally.
Rubio and Vice President JD Vance, who is also Catholic, met Leo a year ago after attending the pope’s inaugural Mass. Trump did not meet with the pontiff.
During his two-day visit to Rome, Rubio is expected to meet Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who defended the pope against Trump’s attacks. Meloni’s Defense Minister said that the war in Iran puts U.S. leadership at risk.
