Rubio's Rome visit, reportedly an attempt to repair US-Vatican relations, coincides with one-year anniversary of Pope Leo's papacy.US secretary of state Marco Rubio is to visit Rome and the Vatican this week in what has been widely described as a diplomatic mission to repair relations strained by US president Donald Trump's public attack on Pope Leo XIV.A Vatican source confirmed that Rubio, who is a Catholic, would meet the pontiff on Thursday, though there was no immediate official confirmation from the Holy See. Italian newspapers described the visit as an attempt to "thaw" relations. Trump's attack on Pope Leo The meetings come a few weeks after Trump's unprecedented criticism of Pope Leo over the Catholic leader's anti-war rhetoric. Following Leo's declaration that Trump's threat to destroy Iran was "unacceptable" - and his call on Americans to urge their lawmakers to work for peace - Trump attacked the pontiff on social media as "weak on crime, and terrible for foreign policy", adding that he was "not a big fan of Pope Leo" and did not "want a pope who thinks it's OK for Iran to have a nuclear weapon." The pontiff responded by stating he had a "moral duty to speak out" against war. He subsequently made headlines during a visit to Cameroon by lambasting "tyrants" ravaging the world, though he later insisted those remarks had been written before the public dispute and were not intended as a fresh salvo against Trump. The row also drew in Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni, one of Trump's closest European allies, who condemned the president's remarks as "unacceptable" - prompting Trump to turn on her as well. Rome meetings During his two-day visit to Rome, Rubio is also scheduled to meet foreign minister Antonio Tajani and defence minister Guido Crosetto, according to Italian media reports. A meeting with Meloni has not been formally confirmed, though Rubio has indicated he wishes to see her. The trip would mark the first high-ranking encounter between the pontiff and a senior US administration official since Trump issued his withering criticism of the Chicago-born pope last month. The pontiff had already met Rubio last year, on the day of his inauguration, 18 May, and the following day, when Leo XIV received US vice president JD Vance. Leo will mark one year as leader of the world's 1.4 billion Catholics on Friday, having been elected on 8 May 2025 following the death of Pope Francis. Photo credit: Daniel Hernandez-Salazar / Shutterstock.com

US secretary of state Marco Rubio is to visit Rome and the Vatican this week in what has been widely described as a diplomatic mission to repair relations strained by US president Donald Trump's public attack on Pope Leo XIV. A Vatican source confirmed that Rubio, who is a Catholic, would meet the pontiff on Thursday, though there was no immediate official confirmation from the Holy See. Italian newspapers described the visit as an attempt to "thaw" relations. The meetings come a few weeks after Trump's unprecedented criticism of Pope Leo over the Catholic leader's anti-war rhetoric. Following Leo's declaration that Trump's threat to destroy Iran was "unacceptable" - and his call on Americans to urge their lawmakers to work for peace - Trump attacked the pontiff on social media as "weak on crime, and terrible for foreign policy", adding that he was "not a big fan of Pope Leo" and did not "want a pope who thinks it's OK for Iran to have a nuclear weapon." The pontiff responded by stating he had a "moral duty to speak out" against war. He subsequently made headlines during a visit to Cameroon by lambasting "tyrants" ravaging the world, though he later insisted those remarks had been written before the public dispute and were not intended as a fresh salvo against Trump. The row also drew in Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni, one of Trump's closest European allies, who condemned the president's remarks as "unacceptable" - prompting Trump to turn on her as well. During his two-day visit to Rome, Rubio is also scheduled to meet foreign minister Antonio Tajani and defence minister Guido Crosetto, according to Italian media reports. A meeting with Meloni has not been formally confirmed, though Rubio has indicated he wishes to see her. The trip would mark the first high-ranking encounter between the pontiff and a senior US administration official since Trump issued his withering criticism of the Chicago-born pope last month. The pontiff had already met Rubio last year, on the day of his inauguration, 18 May, and the following day, when Leo XIV received US vice president JD Vance. Leo will mark one year as leader of the world's 1.4 billion Catholics on Friday, having been elected on 8 May 2025 following the death of Pope Francis. Photo credit: Daniel Hernandez-Salazar / Shutterstock.com