Secretary Rubio to meet with Pope Leo
In what many see as a diplomatic snub, Vice President J.D. Vance, a devout Catholic, will not meet with Pope Leo XIV this week. Instead, Secretary of State Marco Rubio will fly to the Vatican.
by Summer Lane | May 4, 2026
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio will meet Pope Leo XIV this week in Italy, just weeks after President Donald Trump hotly attacked the Catholic leader on Truth Social.
The U.S. State Department announced Rubio’s travel plans on Monday. He will travel to Rome from May 6 to 8. Rubio will visit the Vatican and meet with Holy See leadership to “discuss the situation in the Middle East and mutual interests in the Western Hemisphere.”
Some see this move as a diplomatic snub toward Vice President J.D. Vance, who is the highest-ranking Catholic in the U.S. government.
In April, President Trump posted a long screed condemning Pope Leo, accusing him of being “WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy.”
The president’s criticism of Leo XIV was prompted by the pope’s condemnation of the war in the Middle East.
“Leo should be thankful because, as everyone knows, he was a shocking surprise,” the president fumed on Truth Social. “He wasn’t on any list to be Pope, and was only put there by the Church because he was an American, and they thought that would be the best way to deal with President Donald J. Trump. If I wasn’t in the White House, Leo wouldn’t be in the Vatican.”
Later, the pope commented that it was “not in my interest at all” to spar with President Donald Trump. However, the Catholic leader promised that he would continue advocating for peace regardless.
“Pope Leo preaches the gospel, as he should, and that will inevitably mean he offers his opinions on the moral issues of the day,” Vance said in a carefully worded post on X amid the diplomatic dustup.
He continued, “The President–and the entire administration–work to apply those moral principles in a messy world. He will be in our prayers, and I hope that we’ll be in his.”
Photo: Adobe Stock
