Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Pope Leo at the Vatican Thursday, where they held a 45 minute closed-door conversation.
In a post on X, Rubio said that the purpose of the meeting was to “underscore our shared commitment to promoting peace and human dignity.”
The Vatican released a statement after the meeting which said that “the shared commitment to fostering good bilateral relations between the Holy See and the United States of America was reaffirmed.”
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The meeting sought to resolve recent tensions between the White House and the Vatican over the Iran War—the conflict that began on February 28, 2026 when the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran.
President Donald Trump told radio host Hugh Hewitt Tuesday that Leo was “endangering a lot of Catholics” by opposing the Iran War. Leo had made an appeal to U.S. voters to call their congressional representatives to demand an end to the bombing campaign, after Trump threatened to destroy the “whole civilization” of Iran.
Rubio is scheduled to meet Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni Friday.
