Secretary of State Marco Rubio visited the Vatican and held private talks with Pope Leo XIV and Cardinal Pietro Parolin to discuss the Middle East and shared concerns. The State Department said the meetings reaffirmed strong U.S.–Holy See ties and a joint commitment to peace and human dignity. Rubio's visit followed several weeks of public tension between Pope Leo and President Trump, including critical comments, a contentious TV segment and a now-deleted AI-generated image posted by the president. Both Rubio and Vice President JD Vance have been asked how they reconcile the president's remarks with their Catholic faith.
Rubio Meets Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican — Diplomatic Talks After Weeks Of Tension With Trump
Pope Leo XIV and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio. / Credit: Vatican
Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Pope Leo XIV on Thursday at the Vatican for private talks on developments in the Middle East and other shared concerns. The visit followed several weeks of public friction between the American-born pontiff and President Trump.
Meeting Highlights
According to State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott, the meeting "underscored the strong relationship between the United States and the Holy See and their shared commitment to promoting peace and human dignity." Rubio, a practicing Catholic, also held discussions with Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin.
In a separate readout, Pigott said the talks with Cardinal Parolin covered "mutual cooperation and pressing international issues" and emphasized "efforts to achieve a durable peace in the Middle East." Reporters traveling with Rubio said he spent two hours and 15 minutes inside the Apostolic Palace. The meeting itself was private, though the Vatican released official photos.
Context And Recent Tensions
The Vatican meetings come after several weeks of public tension between President Trump and Pope Leo. On March 29, Palm Sunday, Pope Leo wrote on social media:
"This is our God: Jesus, King of Peace, who rejects war, whom no one can use to justify war. He does not listen to the prayers of those who wage war, but rejects them."
On April 12, a "60 Minutes" segment featured cardinals discussing the pope's criticism of the president's deportation policy and comments on the war in Iran. Shortly after the broadcast, President Trump posted a lengthy social-media message criticizing the pope as "WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy." That same night, the president briefly shared an AI-generated image that appeared to show him in a Jesus-like pose; he later deleted the image and said he had intended it to depict him as a doctor.
Domestic Reaction
Relations between the White House and the Vatican have shown signs of cooling since the exchange, but tensions lingered. Shortly before Rubio's trip, the president told radio host Hugh Hewitt: "I think he's endangering a lot of Catholics and a lot of people. But I guess it's up to the Pope. He thinks it's just fine for Iran to have a nuclear weapon."
Both Rubio and Vice President JD Vance — both Catholics — have faced questions about how they reconcile the president's statements with their faith. Vance said last month:
"Now we can, of course, have disagreements about whether this or that conflict is just, but I think in the way that it's important for the vice president of the United States to be careful when I talk about matters of public policy, I think it's very, very important for the pope to be careful when he talks about matters of theology."
What To Watch
Diplomatic observers will be watching for any public statements or follow-up meetings that emerge from Rubio's visit, particularly regarding efforts to advance peace initiatives in the Middle East and to manage tensions between U.S. political leaders and the Vatican.
Help us improve.
