Pope Leo XIV Meets US VP Vance, Secretary Rubio

Pope Leo XIV has received U.S. Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the Vatican on Monday, just one day after his inauguration mass.

Photographs released by the Vatican show Vance and Rubio smiling as they greeted the Chicago-born pontiff, who was elected head of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics on May 8. According to the Vice President’s spokesperson, the private audience with Pope Leo lasted 45 minutes.

Following the meeting, Vice President Vance also held talks with Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, the Holy See’s secretary for relations with states. The Vatican described.

“Satisfaction at the good bilateral relations was reiterated, and the collaboration between Church and State was discussed, as well as some matters of special relevance to ecclesial life and religious freedom,” the Vatican said in a statement.

“Finally, there was an exchange of views on some current international issues, calling for respect for humanitarian law and international law in areas of conflict and for a negotiated solution between the parties involved,” the statement added.

Both Vance, who converted to Catholicism in 2019, and Rubio, a lifelong Catholic, attended Sunday’s inauguration mass in St. Peter’s Square, joining around 200,000 dignitaries, royals, and faithful. After the ceremony, the pair queued to personally greet the new pope.

Though Leo XIV had previously reposted criticism on his personal X account of former President Donald Trump’s administration, including sharp comments about Vance himself — the Vice President struck a conciliatory tone.

“Certainly our prayers go with him as he starts this very important work,” Vance said Sunday during a meeting with EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. “The United States is very proud of him.”

VANGUARD