Rubio to meet with Pope Leo during Rome trip after Trump’s criticism of the pontiff

U.S. Secretary of State will meet with Pope Leo and possibly Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni during a trip to Italy this week. Photo by BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI /AFP via Getty Images

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U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio will meet Pope Leo on a trip to Rome this week, in the wake of the pontiff’s clash with President Donald Trump, a Vatican source said Sunday.

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The source confirmed Italian media reports about the meeting, which newspapers said would take place on Thursday in an attempt to “thaw” relations.

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It comes just weeks after Trump’s extraordinary criticism of Pope Leo XIV over the Catholic leader’s anti-war rhetoric.

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An Italian government source earlier told AFP that Rubio would also meet Vatican Secretary of State Pietro Parolin and Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani.

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Rubio had asked for a meeting with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, one of Trump’s closest European allies, whom he turned on after she defended the pope, the source added.

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Media reports said he was also due to meet Defence Minister Guido Crosetto, amid a deepening rift in transatlantic ties over the Middle East war.

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One year in office

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Leo, 70, will on Friday mark one year as leader of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics, after being elected by cardinals on May 8, 2025, following the death of Pope Francis.

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As the first ever pope from the United States, his words have arguably carried more weight in Washington than previous pontiffs — and he has used them, criticizing notably the Trump administration’s crackdown on immigration.

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But it was the pontiff’s increasing anti-war rhetoric, particularly following the U.S.-Israeli attacks on Iran, that triggered Trump’s ire.

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Leo declared Trump’s threat to destroy Iran “unacceptable” and urged Americans to demand that U.S. lawmakers “work for peace.”

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Pope Leo XIV said he has “no fear of the Trump administration” after the U.S. president lambasted the pontiff, who has been critical of the war against Iran. Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images/Alberto PIZZOLI/AFP via Getty Images

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The U.S. president slammed the pontiff in a social media post as “WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy.”

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Trump also said he was “not a big fan of Pope Leo” and that he does not “want a pope who thinks it’s OK for Iran to have a nuclear weapon.”

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The pontiff responded by saying he had a “moral duty to speak out” against war — and then sparked more headlines with a speech in Cameroon lambasting “tyrants” ransacking the world.

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However, he insisted afterwards that the remarks were written long before the row, and said he had not intended to start a new debate with the U.S. president.

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Christians across the world expressed their solidarity with the pope, and Meloni condemned Trump’s remarks as “unacceptable”  — prompting the president to turn his fire on her.

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“I’m shocked at her. I thought she had courage, but I was wrong,” the U.S. president said in an interview with Italian daily Corriere della Sera.

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He accused Meloni — a far-right leader who has sought to act as a bridge between diverging U.S. and European views — of failing to help the United States with NATO.

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Meloni and Trump’s close relationship appears to be wavering. Photo by Antonio Masiello /Photographer: Antonio Masiello/G

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Trump has threatened to pull U.S. troops from Italy, saying Rome “has not been of any help to us” in the Iran war.

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He has made a similar threat towards Spain, while the Pentagon has announced it will withdraw 5,000 U.S. troops from Germany.

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As of December 31, 2025, there were 12,662 active-duty U.S. troops in Italy and 3,814 in Spain. In Germany, there were 36,436.

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