US vice president meets Pope Leo, an American known for past criticism of Trump

By Joshua McElwee

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) -Pope Leo XIV, a U.S. citizen who as a cardinal criticised the Trump administration’s hard-line immigration policies, met at the Vatican on Monday with U.S. Vice President JD Vance, who converted to Roman Catholicism as an adult.

A Vatican readout confirmed that Vance and Leo had met but offered no details about their discussions. A Vance spokesperson said they met one-on-one before being joined by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who is also Catholic.

Vatican handout photos showed Vance and Rubio smiling as they were seated across from Leo at the pope’s official desk in the Vatican’s apostolic palace.

Leo, the Chicago-born former Cardinal Robert Prevost, is a relative unknown on the global stage, elected as the new pope on May 8.

While a cardinal, he issued several disapproving posts about the administration’s policies on his X account, reflecting his concern about migrants. The Vatican has not confirmed or denied that the posts were authentic.

The late Pope Francis, who died on April 21, was a champion of the poor and of immigrants who frequently criticised the Trump administration. He called Trump’s plan to deport millions of migrants a “disgrace” and rebuked Vance for arguing that the bible calls on Christians to prioritise love for their families and countrymen over strangers and foreigners.

Vance met briefly with Francis on Easter Sunday, the day before the pontiff died.

Vance and Rubio have been in Rome to lead the U.S. delegation at Leo’s inaugural Mass as pope, held on Sunday among crowds of an estimated 200,000 people in St. Peter’s Square.

After meeting Leo, Vance met on Monday with officials at the Vatican’s Secretariat of State, the Church’s top diplomatic office. A Vatican readout called those talks “cordial”.

“There was an exchange of views on some current international issues, calling for respect for humanitarian law and international law in areas of conflict and for a negotiated solution between the parties involved,” it said.

(Reporting by Joshua McElweeEditing by Peter Graff)