Secretary of State Marco Rubio met privately with Pope Leo XIV on May 7, 2026, in a Vatican visit that notably did not include Vice President JD Vance. The 11:30 a.m. audience at the Apostolic Palace marked a striking diplomatic decision that underscored both the tense ties between the Trump administration and the Holy See and the growing rivalry between two prominent Catholic figures in the president’s circle.

Rubio’s three-day trip to Rome, scheduled for May 6-8, also included talks with Vatican Secretary of State Pietro Parolin and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. The timing was meaningful: The papal meeting happened one day before Pope Leo’s first anniversary on May 8.

Trump’s Blistering Attacks On The Pope

After Pope Leo urged peace in the Middle East and condemned Trump’s vow to destroy Iranian civilization as unacceptable, Trump intensified his criticism during a May 5 appearance on “The Hugh Hewitt Show,” calling Leo “WEAK on crime, and terrible for foreign policy” while accusing him of being “fine” with Iran obtaining nuclear weapons.

On a May 5 appearance on The Hugh Hewitt Show, Trump escalated his criticism, asserting Leo was “fine” with Iran having nuclear weapons and warning the pope was “endangering a lot of Catholics and a lot of people.” Pope Leo responded the next day, urging critics to “do so with the truth,” and flatly denying the nuclear claim: “The Church has spoken out against all nuclear weapons for years, so there is no doubt on that point.”

Trump’s tougher immigration policies have also drawn papal rebukes, adding strain. Christian leaders across the United States and abroad rallied to the pontiff after the president’s attacks, and polling from March and April 2026 showed rising Catholic dissatisfaction with Trump — an alarming trend for a president who won a Catholic majority in 2024. Behind the scenes, tensions had already reached an extraordinary level: on January 22, the Pentagon held an unusual meeting with the then-papal ambassador to the United States, which a Vatican source described to CNN as “unprecedented” and “tense.”

Unusually, Trump has not spoken by phone with Pope Leo even once since his election in May 2025. The Vatican has also confirmed that Pope Leo will not visit the United States in 2026, with the pope’s policy of avoiding countries ahead of elections cited as the official explanation, though the ongoing diplomatic tensions have made such a visit appear increasingly unlikely regardless.

Vance Frozen Out Of Papal Talks

Vance, who became Catholic in 2019, had previously met the pope with Rubio on May 19, 2025, the day after Leo’s inaugural Mass, which made the vice president’s omission from this visit particularly notable.

The perceived snub fueled speculation about an escalating rivalry between Rubio and Vance, two senior officials competing for influence. With the secretary of state securing the sought-after Vatican audience while Vance was left out, Rubio seemed to gain an edge in directing the administration’s outreach to Catholic constituencies.

What Happened Inside The Vatican

The May 7 meeting lasted longer and was warmer than many expected. Rubio arrived with his wife, Jeanette Dousdebes Rubio, and was greeted by Pope Leo before holding private talks in the pope’s library. The closed-door session extended well beyond its scheduled slot — more than 45 minutes in private — and Rubio spent over two hours total in the Apostolic Palace. The audience was set up at Washington’s request, not the Vatican’s. Pope Leo addressed Rubio formally as “Mr. Secretary”; Rubio said, “Great to see you.” The pope gave Rubio a pen made from olive wood, “the plant of peace,” he said, and Rubio presented a crystal football, quipping he knew the Chicago-born pope was “more of a baseball guy.” Leo’s reply was brief: “Wow. OK.” Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said discussions covered the Middle East, Iran, Lebanon, Africa, and Cuba.

Meloni Caught In The Crossfire

Rubio’s May 8 morning meeting with Meloni was arranged at the secretary’s request, according to an Italian government source who spoke with AFP. The far-right Italian prime minister, once among Trump’s closest European allies, has seen that relationship sour after she defended the pope.

Trump criticized Meloni for lacking courage after her defense of the Catholic leader. The president also threatened to pull U.S. troops out of Italy, saying Rome “has not been of any help to us” in the Iran war. Italian outlets described the May 2026 engagements as an attempt to “thaw” relations strained by Trump’s comments.

After the meeting, Rubio stressed that disagreements between political leaders and the Catholic Church would not stop cooperation. Asked whether he would tell Trump to stop attacking the pope, Rubio said: “The president will always speak clearly about how he feels about the U.S. and U.S. policy. I think we can do that and continue to have a very productive relationship with the church.”

Cuba And The Western Hemisphere On The Agenda

Cuba was a major topic in Vatican talks. The Holy See plays an active diplomatic role regarding the island, while Rubio — a Cuban-American — has led the Trump administration’s pressure campaign on Havana’s communist government. Vatican officials have historically acted as discreet mediators in U.S.-Cuba affairs, and the private papal audience offered a chance to reopen that diplomatic channel.

For the Vatican, engaging with Washington on global hotspots while avoiding any impression of yielding to a White House that had publicly humiliated the pope and a leading European Catholic figure is delicate. Former U.S. Embassy diplomat Peter Martin told Reuters the wording “makes it clear that, at present, there is work to do,” while Vatican expert Austen Ivereigh said the statement’s emphasis on rebuilding ties suggested the two sides are “at the moment not good.” For Rubio, the meeting cast him as a key intermediary between an angry president and a resolute pontiff — precisely the role many expected Vice President Vance might fill.

Whether the May 7 audience produced real reconciliation or simply masked deep differences was unclear. After the meeting, the Vatican said both parties “renewed the shared commitment to fostering good bilateral relations.” On May 8, marking his first anniversary as head of the Catholic Church, Pope Leo asked God to inspire leaders to calm tensions. “We cannot resign ourselves to the images of death that the news shows us every day,” he said in an address delivered in Pompeii.