RismadarVoice Reporters
May 7, 2026
U.S. Secretary of State, Marco Rubio has held talks with Pope Leo at the Vatican in a closed-door meeting that took place against the backdrop of rising diplomatic tension between Washington and the Holy See over comments linked to the Iran conflict.
The 45-minute meeting marked the first engagement between the head of the Catholic Church and a senior U.S. cabinet official in nearly a year, and comes after weeks of public criticism by President Donald Trump directed at the pontiff over his remarks on the Middle East crisis.
According to the Vatican, the discussions involved an exchange of views on regional and international affairs, alongside a reaffirmation of the importance of strong bilateral relations between the United States and the Vatican.
Rubio, who is a practising Catholic, said in a post on X that the talks focused on shared commitments to peace and human dignity. The U.S. State Department also described the meeting as reinforcing the long-standing relationship between both sides.
During a brief moment before the meeting, Pope Leo presented Rubio with an olive-wood pen, symbolically described as a “plant of peace,” while the U.S. diplomat gifted the pontiff a crystal football bearing the State Department seal.
The visit comes at a sensitive time in U.S.–Vatican relations, with Pope Leo and senior Vatican officials previously pushing back against criticism from President Trump, particularly regarding U.S. foreign policy and the war involving Iran.
The Vatican’s Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, had earlier defended the pontiff’s stance, describing political attacks against him as unusual and inappropriate.
Rubio also held discussions with Cardinal Parolin during his visit, where issues including humanitarian aid to Cuba and global religious freedom were reportedly raised.
Ahead of the trip, U.S. officials said the discussions were expected to be candid, while acknowledging ongoing tensions linked to the geopolitical situation in the Middle East.
President Trump has repeatedly criticised the pontiff’s comments on the Iran conflict, accusing him of taking a political stance, while also defending his administration’s position that Iran should not acquire nuclear weapons.
The pontiff, however, has maintained that his statements are grounded in religious teachings and calls for global peace, rejecting accusations of political bias and reiterating the Church’s long-standing opposition to nuclear weapons.
He has also stressed that criticism of his position should remain factual and not personal, amid increasing scrutiny of global religious and political leadership roles in the ongoing crisis.
