Pope Leo receives Vance, Rubio

VATICAN CITY - Pope Leo XIV received US Vice-President J.D. Vance and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the Vatican on May 19, a day after the new pontiff’s inauguration mass.

The Vatican released photographs of Mr Vance and Mr Rubio smiling as they met the Chicago-born Pope, who was elected as

head of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics on May 8

.

The audience with the pontiff lasted 45 minutes, the V-P’s spokesperson said.

Mr Vance then met the Holy See’s Secretary for Relations with States Paul Richard Gallagher for “cordial talks”, the Vatican said.

“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”, it said.

Mr Vance converted to Catholicism in 2019 and Mr Rubio is also a Catholic.

The pair were among the 200,000 dignitaries, royals and faithful gathered on May 18 to mark the official start of the Pope’s papacy in St Peter’s Square.

They then queued up to shake his hand after the mass.

Before becoming pope, he had reposted on his personal X account criticism of US President Donald Trump’s administration over its approach to migration and also pilloried Mr Vance.

But Mr Vance insisted on May 18 that the US was “very proud of him”.

“Certainly our prayers go with him as he starts this very important work,” Mr Vance said at a meeting with EU chief Ursula von der Leyen and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
AFP