U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is due in Italy this week for a scheduled meeting with Pope Leo on Thursday, it was reported on Sunday. According to a senior source familiar with the pope's plans, the audience would be the first known in-person meeting between the pope and a member of the U.S. cabinet in nearly a year.
The timing of Rubio's visit intersects with heightened attention to relations between the U.S. presidency and the Vatican. President Donald Trump has publicly criticized Pope Leo on multiple occasions in April via social media, and at one point described the pontiff as "terrible" while the pope was on a four-nation trip to Africa. Those presidential remarks have drawn criticism across the political spectrum.
Pope Leo has recently been an outspoken critic of the U.S.-Israeli led war with Iran, and he previously publicly criticized the Trump administration's anti-immigration policies. Those statements have contributed to the broader context in which the Thursday meeting will occur, though the reported announcement did not specify an agenda for the audience.
Rubio is not new to meeting the pope. He met with Pope Leo in May 2025 alongside Vice President JD Vance; the two U.S. officials attended the new pope's inaugural Mass in St. Peter's Square and held a private meeting with him the following day. The scheduled Thursday audience would come as Pope Leo, the first U.S. pope, marks his first year in office on Friday.
The reported visit is notable for its timing and symbolism: a senior source framed the meeting as the first known face-to-face encounter between the pontiff and a U.S. cabinet official in nearly a year, and it follows several rounds of public commentary from the U.S. president directed at the pope. No further details about the location, duration, or specific topics to be discussed were provided in the report.
Clear summary
Secretary of State Marco Rubio is slated to meet Pope Leo in Italy on Thursday, marking the first reported in-person meeting between the pope and a U.S. cabinet official in almost a year. The visit occurs after President Donald Trump publicly criticized the pope in April and as the pope has taken public positions on the U.S.-Israeli led war with Iran and on immigration policy. Rubio previously met Pope Leo in May 2025 with Vice President JD Vance; the pope marks his first year in office on Friday.