Secretary of State Marco Rubio will travel to Rome and Vatican City later this week in an effort to de-escalate rising diplomatic tensions between President Donald Trump and Pope Leo XIV over U.S. foreign and domestic policies. The State Department confirmed Monday that the top diplomat will arrive in Italy on Thursday and Friday, marking at least his third trip to the country or the Holy See since joining the Trump administration last year.
Vatican officials announced Monday that Pope Leo will meet with the secretary of state on Thursday. “Secretary Rubio will meet with Holy See leadership to discuss the situation in the Middle East and mutual interests in the Western Hemisphere,” the department said. “Meetings with Italian counterparts will be focused on shared security interests and strategic alignment.”
The trip follows an escalating public dispute between the White House and the Vatican. Trump lashed out at Pope Leo last month, characterizing the pontiff as soft on crime and terrorism due to Leo’s public criticisms of the administration’s deportation operations and the ongoing U.S. conflict in Iran.
In response to the escalating rhetoric and military actions, Pope Leo stated that God does not listen to the prayers of those who wage war. The pope later clarified that his general appeals for peace were not intended as a direct attack on the president or any specific world leader.
The diplomatic friction intensified when Trump posted a social media image likening himself to Jesus Christ. The administration later deleted the post. Trump has since refused to apologize, asserting in subsequent statements that he believed the artwork depicted him as a medical doctor rather than a religious figure.
The president’s comments about the pope have spilled over into Italian domestic politics. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, a long-time ally of the Trump administration, publicly took exception to the president’s treatment of the pontiff. In return, Trump criticized Meloni as part of an expanding critique of NATO allies. The White House has voiced frustration over what it sees as insufficient allied support for the Iran war, a stance underscored by recent Pentagon planning to withdraw thousands of American troops from Germany in the coming months.
Rubio’s upcoming visit will follow a pattern of high-level diplomatic engagement in the region. In May 2025, Rubio traveled to Rome for Pope Leo’s inaugural mass, where he met privately with the new pope alongside Vice President JD Vance. A second trip in February brought both Rubio and Vance to Milan for the Winter Olympics, where they attended the opening ceremonies and met with American athletes.
Rubio has frequently been tasked with moderating the president’s rhetoric toward European leaders and clarifying U.S. positions on NATO and Middle Eastern security. The visit carries significant domestic political weight as the administration navigates the diplomatic fallout and addresses American Catholic voters ahead of the midterm congressional election cycle.