Pope Leo XIV and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio met on Thursday during the latter’s trip to Rome, with hopes of improving relations between the Vatican and Washington at a time when United States President Donald Trump has repeatedly attacked the pontiff.On Friday, Leo marks his first year leading the 1.4 billion-member Catholic Church.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of listHere is what happened during the meeting, and whether it signals a thaw between the Vatican and Washington.What happened at the meeting – and afterwards?Pope Leo and Rubio “renewed the shared commitment to fostering good bilateral relations”, the Vatican said in a statement following the first meeting between the pope and a Trump cabinet official in nearly a year amid an atmosphere of tension with Washington.The meeting appeared to have run longer than planned. The pope arrived 40 minutes late for a subsequent meeting with Vatican staffers and thanked them for being patient.Rubio also met with senior Vatican officials, including top diplomat Italian Cardinal Pietro Parolin.The US embassy to the Holy See wrote in an X post that Leo and Rubio had discussed “topics of mutual interest in the Western Hemisphere”.The Vatican statement added that the two had “exchanged views” on the world situation and spoke about “the need to work tirelessly in favour of peace”.Vatican video from the beginning of the closed-door meeting with Rubio showed Leo shaking hands with his guest and addressing him formally as “Mr Secretary”, to which Rubio, a Catholic, responded: “Great to see you.” Advertisement Rubio was also seen giving the pope a small crystal football. He joked that he knew that Le …
