U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio will meet Pope Leo XIV on Thursday during his visit to Italy, following President Donald Trump’s recent attacks on the pontiff and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
Italian media characterised the trip as a “relations thawing mission,” after the American leader slammed the pontiff over his criticism of the war in Iran and railed against Meloni over her “unacceptable” comments after she openly defended the pope.
Rubio is scheduled to have an audience with the Catholic leader at the Vatican’s Apostolic Palace Thursday morning at 11:30. He will also meet “with Italian government counterparts” — expected to include Italy’s Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani and Defense Minister Guido Crosetto — in an attempt to “advance bilateral relations and align on global challenges,” according to a U.S. official statement.
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni confirmed she is likely to meet with Rubio, too. When reporters at the EU-Armenia summit in Yerevan asked her about whether she would sit down with the secretary of state during his Rome trip, she said: “I think so.” Her office did not respond to POLITICO’s request for comment.
Rubio previously met Leo alongside Vice President JD Vance in May 2025 following the pope’s inaugural Mass in St. Peter’s Square. His last visit to Italy dates back to February, when he and Vance met Meloni on the sidelines of the Olympic Winter Games.
The Vatican announced the pope is also meeting Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk Thursday afternoon.
Jacopo Barigazzi contributed to this report.
