Pope meets Vance ahead of Ukraine ceasefire push

Pope Leo XIV meets with Vice-President J.D. Vance (centre) and Secretary of State Marco Rubio (left), on the Vatican, on May 19, 2025.
| Photo Credit: Vatican Media by way of AP

Pope Leo XIV obtained U.S. Vice-President J.D. Vance and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on the Vatican on Monday (May 19, 2025), ahead of a U.S.-led push to finish the Russia-Ukraine battle.

The Vatican launched images of Mr. Vance and Mr. Rubio smiling as they met with the Chicago-born pontiff, who was elected as head of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics on May 8 — the primary pope from the United States.

The pair have been among the many 200,000 dignitaries, royals and trustworthy who had gathered on Sunday (May 18, 2025) to mark the official begin of Pope Leo’s papacy at an inauguration mass in St. Peter’s Square.

Pope Leo, 69, has made peace the important thing phrase of his papacy thus far and was anticipated to speak to Mr. Vance and Mr. Rubio concerning the U.S. administration’s function in pushing for an finish to the Russia-Ukraine battle particularly.

Mr. Vance handed Pope Leo an invite from U.S. President Donald Trump to go to the White House, his spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt advised reporters in Washington, including that Mr. Trump hoped the go to would occur as quickly as attainable.

Mr. Trump will maintain a telephone name with Russia’s Vladimir Putin afterward Monday (May 19, 2025) as half of his efforts to finish the conflict set off by Moscow’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

Mr. Vance additionally met on Monday (May 19, 2025) with the Holy See’s Secretary for Relations with States, Paul Richard Gallagher, for “cordial talks” throughout which they expressed “satisfaction at the good bilateral relations”, the Vatican stated.

There was additionally “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 stated.

There was a flurry of diplomatic conferences on the sidelines of Pope Leo’s inauguration, with world dignitaries discussing each Israel’s offensive in Gaza and the Ukraine battle.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who was current on the inauguration mass, met with Pope Leo for his first personal viewers on Sunday (May 18, 2025).

He additionally sat down with Mr. Vance and Mr. Rubio to debate “their shared goal of ending the bloodshed in Ukraine,” in accordance with the Vice-President’s workplace.

‘Every effort’

Pope Leo provided final week to mediate between leaders of international locations at conflict, saying that he himself “will make every effort so that this peace may prevail”.

And the pope’s quantity two, Secretary of State Pietro Parolin, stated on Friday (May 16, 2025) Pope Leo “may offer the Vatican for a direct meeting between the two parties”, in accordance with media reviews.

Mr. Vance’s viewers with Pope Leo lasted 45 minutes, the V-P’s spokesperson stated.

Before turning into pope, he reposted on his private X account criticism of U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration over its strategy to migration and likewise pilloried Mr. Vance.

But Mr. Vance insisted on Sunday (May 18, 2025) that the United States was “very proud of him”, including that “our prayers go with him as he starts this very important work”.

Mr. Vance transformed to Catholicism in 2019, and Mr. Rubio can be a Catholic.

Mr. Vance and Gallagher additionally mentioned “collaboration between Church and State… as well as some matters of special relevance to ecclesial life and religious freedom,” the Vatican stated.

Pope Leo, who was elected following the loss of life of his predecessor Pope Francis final month, is tasked with tackling a sequence of urgent challenges dealing with the Catholic Church.

These embody a bitter divide between supporters of Francis’s reforms and conservative opponents, notably within the United States, in addition to more and more empty pews within the West.