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Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican on Thursday, helping to ease a somewhat tumultuous relationship between the White House and the Catholic leader.
Secretary Rubio and his wife, Jeanette, were greeted near the steps of the Vatican and then escorted inside. Later, Secretary Rubio and Pope Leo exchanged gifts.
The pope gifted Rubio a pen made from olive wood, which he emphatically added was a “plant of peace.”
Rubio gave the pope a crystal football, presumably a paperweight.
“What to get someone who has everything?” Rubio remarked.
The meeting appeared cordial and respectful. “Met with @Pontifex to underscore our shared commitment to promoting peace and human dignity,” Rubio posted on X shortly after, sharing a series of photos of his time with the pope.
The secretary also met with Cardinal Parolin on Thursday during his visit to the Vatican.
“The United States and Holy See partnership in advancing religious freedom is strong,” Rubio stated.
According to a statement from the Holy See Press Office, the talks were “cordial,” and the meeting reaffirmed bilateral relations between the Vatican and the U.S.
“Views were then exchanged regarding situations on the regional and international levels, with particular attention given to countries experiencing war, political tensions and difficult humanitarian situations as well as the need to work tirelessly for peace,” the office noted.
The meeting between Secretary Rubio and Pope Leo came just weeks after President Donald Trump harshly criticized the Catholic leader’s condemnation of the Iran War.
“Our mission calls us to be ‘bridges’ and ‘channels’ of #Peace, even before trying to build it with our limited human efforts, especially in the face of those who do not seek it as a gift from God. May the grace that comes from heaven find its way through the folds of history,” Pope Leo wrote on X in late April, citing his visit to the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy.
It came as a surprise to some that Vice President J.D. Vance would not return to the Vatican to lead such a diplomatic meeting. Last year, the vice president met with Pope Leo in Italy, where he invited the pope to the White House and presented him with a Chicago Bears jersey, as reported by RSBN.
Pope Leo is the first American-born pope in the history of the Catholic church. He hails from the Chicago, Illinois region.
