The Supreme Pontiff gave an audience with the U.S. Vice-President and the Secretary of State.
By Catholics for Catholics
U.S. Vice President JD Vance and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Pope Leo XIV Monday, according to the National Catholic Register.
The papal audience started between Vance and the pope, with Rubio joining afterward, reported The Register. Second Lady Usha Vance and Rubio’s wife Jeanette Dousdebes Rubio, and the larger U.S. delegation joined for the final part of the meeting, which included the routine exchange of gifts.
Neither side released details of the meeting, but Vance and Rubio later spoke with a top Vatican diplomat about U.S. and international issues. In addition, the Vatican released a photo in which Vance appears to have given the Pope a Chicago Bears jersey with “Pope Leo XIV” printed on the back.
Other images show Vance and Rubio smiling, seated in places of honor across the papal desk from Leo. After the audience, Vance and Rubio met with Secretary for Relations with States Archbishop Paul Gallagher, Rubio’s Vatican equal. According to the Register, “They discussed collaboration between Church and state and issues relevant to ecclesial life and religious freedom, according to the Vatican.”
Pope Leo XIV holds a private audience with US Vice President @JDVance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio @SecRubio, who attended the Inauguration Mass of his pontificate on Sunday at the Vatican.
— Catholics for Catholics 🇺🇲 (@CforCatholics) May 19, 2025
pic.twitter.com/YLlLwQmcRw
The Register published that “the brief communication on the meeting from the Vatican also appeared to reference disagreements — “an exchange of views” — between the Vatican and the U.S. administration on “some current international issues.”’
According to the Vatican statement, during the meeting, there was a call for “respect for humanitarian law and international law in areas of conflict and for a negotiated solution between the parties involved.”
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