Overview
- U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio will be received by Pope Leone XIV in the Vatican on Thursday, May 7, with a follow-on meeting the same day with Cardinal Pietro Parolin.
- In Rome Friday, May 8, Rubio is slated for a bilateral with Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, a working lunch that includes Defense Minister Guido Crosetto, and a meeting with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni at Palazzo Chigi.
- The visit is cast as a reconciliation effort after President Trump’s harsh criticism of the Pope and of Meloni, alongside talk of pulling U.S. forces from Italy.
- Trump escalated again Tuesday, telling Salem News the Pope is “putting many Catholics in danger,” while the U.S. ambassador to the Holy See said Rubio expects a “frank” policy discussion with the Pontiff.
- Vatican officials plan to raise broader files such as Iran talks, Lebanon and Cuba, as Meloni rejects a U.S. troop pullback from Italian bases and says Washington did not consult allies before strikes on Iran.