
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will meet Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican on Thursday in a one-on-one encounter that pointedly excludes Vice President JD Vance, marking a sharp break from the last time both men stood before the first American pope nearly a year ago.
A Vatican source confirmed to Reuters that Rubio is expected to sit down with Leo and Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin on 7 May. The meeting comes almost exactly a year after Rubio and Vance together attended Leo's inaugural Mass in St Peter's Square on 19 May 2025 and held a private audience with the pontiff the following day.