The Vatican stated Thursday that during “cordial discussions” this morning between Pope Leo XIV and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and later with senior Vatican officials, “the common commitment to cultivating good bilateral relations between the Holy See and the United States of America was renewed.”

According to the Vatican’s brief statement issued in Italian, “There was then an exchange of views on the regional and international situation, with particular attention to countries marked by war, political tensions and difficult humanitarian situations, as well as on the need to work tirelessly for peace.” This would suggest that the wars in Iran, Lebanon and Ukraine, as well as the humanitarian situations in Gaza, Cuba and Sudan were discussed.

It said Mr. Rubio first met with Pope Leo and afterward with Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican secretary of state, and Archbishop Paul Gallagher, the secretary for relations with states and international organizations. 

The Vatican statement came two and a half hours after Mr. Rubio had left the Vatican, and gave little insight into the specifics of the conversations. 

In a post on X shortly after departing from the Vatican, Mr. Rubio said, “Met with @Pontifex to underscore our shared commitment to promoting peace and human dignity.” 

A statement from the State Department emphasized “the solidity of relations between the United States and the Holy See, as well as their shared commitment to peace and human dignity.”

It was the second encounter between the pope and the U.S. secretary of state. Mr. Rubio was first received by the pope on May 19, the day after the inauguration of Leo’s Petrine ministry, following a private audience between Vice President JD Vance and the first American pope. 

This time, however, the Catholic secretary of state, born of Cuban immigrant parents, was alone in the pope’s private library with Leo. They shook hands, stood for official photos and then, following protocol, sat at the side of the table where the pope usually converses with distinguished visitors who are not heads of state.

Pope Leo, speaking with journalists at Castel Gandolfo last Tuesday about his upcoming encounter with Mr. Rubio said: “I hope for a good dialogue, with trust and openness, to come to understand each other well. I think the issues he comes for are not the ones we have today,” alluding to President Trump’s recent verbal attacks on the pope for his stance on the Iran war.

Their meeting today took place as the international media reported that Iran and President Trump were considering a 14-point plan to end the war that started on Feb. 28 when the United States and Israel launched strikes on Iran, killing its supreme leader and other senior government and military figures. Pope Leo and the Vatican want this war, as well as Israel’s war in Lebanon and Russia’s war against Ukraine, to end, and they intended to discuss these conflicts with Mr. Rubio. Before they met this morning, Leo and his two top diplomats had face-to-face conversations with Poland’s prime minister, Donald Tusk, who likewise wants to see an end to Russia’s aggression against neighboring Ukraine.

Mr. Rubio entered the Vatican in a motorcade with an armed escort and helicopters flying overhead, then drove through St. Peter’s Square and the Arch of the Bells on the left side of the basilica to the apostolic palace for his 11:30 a.m. private audience with Pope Leo.

On arrival at San Damaso Courtyard, he was welcomed by the new prefect of the papal household, the Canadian-born archbishop Petar Rajič, and was escorted by Swiss Guards to the pope’s private library, where he was welcomed by Leo.

At the end of their private conversation, Mr. Rubio presented his delegation to the pontiff, including his wife, Jeanette, and the U.S. ambassador to the Holy See, Brian Burch. 

As is customary on such occasions, an exchange of gifts then followed. Mr. Rubio gave the pope a paperweight in the shape of a football, and commented, “What can one give to someone who has everything?” Pope Leo gifted Mr. Rubio a pen made of olive tree wood and remarked, “The olive is obviously a plant of peace.” He also gave him an illustrated book of Vatican works of art. 

Matteo Bruni, the director of the Holy See’s Press Office, confirmed that Mr. Rubio’s audience with the pope lasted more than 45 minutes. It seems this included the time involved in the presentation of his delegation.

Immediately afterward, Mr. Rubio was escorted to the Secretariat of State offices, where he met with the pope’s two most senior diplomatic advisors, Cardinal Parolin and Archbishop Gallagher. The three men previously met on May 19, the day after Pope Leo’s inauguration in St. Peter’s Square. 

Mr. Rubio’s motorcade was seen leaving the Vatican just after 2 p.m. (local time), which means he spent over two and a half hours in the Vatican City State.

On the eve of the visit, Cardinal Parolin told journalists, “We will listen to Rubio; the initiative [for this meeting] came from them.” The cardinal then indicated that the Vatican would want clarification on President Trump’s attacks on Pope Leo, which he described as “at least odd.”

He said the pope and Vatican officials wished to talk with him about “the hotter topics of today.” A senior Vatican official told America they wanted to discuss “the wars and Cuba” with Mr. Rubio, meaning the wars in the Middle East—Iran, Lebanon and Gaza—and the war in Ukraine. Referring to these conflicts, Cardinal Parolin on May 7 restated the Holy See’s position: “These conflicts cannot be resolved by force; they are resolved through negotiation. Dialogue is needed.”

He also debunked the false accusation made by President Trump, more than once, that Pope Leo is in favor of Iran having nuclear weapons. “The Holy See has always worked for nuclear disarmament,” he said, and has ratified the U.N. Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. The United Nations adopted the first legally binding international agreement to comprehensively prohibit nuclear weapons in 2017, and it came into force in 2021.

Cardinal Parolin recognized, however, that “one cannot prescind from the United States,” since it is involved everywhere on the international scene. Then, alluding to the fact that the pope and president have not spoken since Leo’s election one year ago, the cardinal indicated that Pope Leo would be willing to speak with Mr. Trump if he should ask to talk. 

Vatican officials and international observers consider it quite extraordinary that the president of the United States has not yet spoken with the first American pope since his election on May 8, 2025, even though other heads of state involved in these conflicts have taken the initiative and phoned Leo, including Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, Israel’s President Isaac Herzog and Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky. Time will tell whether Mr. Rubio’s visit will lead to a conversation between the U.S. president and Pope Leo. Recent polls indicate that most Americans disapprove of Mr. Trump’s attacks on the pope.

Before the visit, the U.S. Department of State said Mr. Rubio is going to the Vatican to strengthen bilateral relations with the Holy See, to speak about religious liberty and to discuss the situations in the Middle East and the Western Hemisphere.

Mr. Rubio, the son of Cuban immigrants who has indicated his desire for regime change on the island, also indicated that the United States was ready to increase humanitarian aid to Cuba through Catholic church organizations. He recalled that it had sent $6 million of aid through Caritas Cuba, and he blamed Cuba’s government for creating obstacles to U.S. aid. The Vatican has for decades objected to the United States’ wide-ranging embargo and sanctions on Cuba, charging that they mainly cause suffering to the people of this country. It views in a similar light the recent blockade imposed by Mr. Trump on the transit of oil from Venezuela to Cuba. It also objects to his threat to take control of Cuba. No doubt all this will likely have formed part of the conversations Secretary Rubio had this morning in the Vatican.

Correction, May 7: Marco Rubio gifted Pope Leo with a miniature football made of crystal, not a baseball made of crystal.