The head of the Roman Catholic Church, Pope Leo XIV, is scheduled to receive US Secretary of State Marco Rubio (Marco) on Thursday, world media reports citing Vatican sources.
It would be the first meeting between the pope and a member of the US government in almost a year.
Leo XIV sharply criticized the US and Israel's war against Iran, as well as the anti-immigration policies of the Trump administration.
Trump, in turn, harshly criticized the pope on several occasions on social media in April, even calling him "weak" and "bad."
Rubio last met with the Pope in May 2025, when he was accompanied by US Vice President JD Vance.
Italian media did not say whether Rubio would meet with the pope, but announced today that he would have meetings in Italy next week, including with Vatican Foreign Minister Pietro Parolin.
Italian media say Rubio is coming to repair US relations with Italy after Trump's recent criticism of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, one of his closest allies in Europe. It is not yet known whether Rubio will also meet with her, or only with the foreign and defense ministers.
Italy is among the European countries with the most American troops - 13.000 of them are on active duty at six bases.
The Pentagon announced on Friday the withdrawal of 5.000 US troops from Germany, its largest European base.
Disagreement over the US war against Iran and the announcement of higher tariffs on vehicle imports from the EU to the US are also straining relations between countries on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean.
See more:
Download the app and follow the news
FOLLOW US ON
