Rubio visits the Vatican.. Will he succeed in containing the Vatican's anger over Trump's statements?

A Vatican source said on Sunday that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is expected to travel to Italy this week to meet Pope Leo, weeks after President Donald Trump faced criticism from Christians across the political spectrum for his attacks on the Pope via social media.

The senior source, familiar with the Pope's plans, who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak about the matter, added that the meeting is expected on Thursday. The meeting will be the first face-to-face encounter between Pope Leo and a US administration official in about a year, according to "Reuters".

The Pope remained relatively absent from the world stage in the first months of his tenure, but in recent weeks he has become one of the most prominent critics of the US-Israeli war on Iran, as well as strongly criticizing the Trump administration's strict anti-immigration policies.

Trump harshly criticized Pope Leo on social media several times in April, once describing him as "terrible," personal attacks that sparked widespread controversy at the time of the Pope's four-nation tour in Africa.

The previous meeting between Rubio and Pope Leo took place in May 2025 and also included US Vice President J.D. Vance. The two US officials attended the inauguration mass of the new Pope, the first American Pope to head the Catholic Church, in St. Peter's Square, and then met with him in a private meeting the next day.

The first anniversary of Pope Leo's taking office is next Friday.

La Repubblica and Corriere della Sera newspapers reported earlier on Sunday that Rubio is expected to visit Italy this week for meetings, including one with Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin, but the newspapers did not mention whether he would meet Pope Leo in person.

Neither the US State Department, the Vatican Press Office, nor a spokesperson for the Italian government has yet responded to questions about these reports.

The two newspapers also reported that Rubio will hold talks with the Italian Foreign and Defense Ministers, and indicated that the visit aims to ease tensions between the two countries after Trump's explicit criticism last month of Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, despite her being one of his closest European allies.

It is also not yet clear whether Rubio will meet Meloni.

The visit comes after the US Department of Defense (Pentagon) announced on Friday the withdrawal of 5,000 US troops from Germany, which hosts the largest US bases in Europe, as the dispute over the war in Iran and tensions over tariffs have put further pressure on relations between the United States and Europe.

Italy hosts nearly 13,000 US troops in 6 military bases by the end of 2025, making it among the largest European countries in terms of US military presence.