Vance and Rubio meet Pope Leo XIV (Copy)

Elise Ann Allen/ Crux• May 19, 2025

After attending Pope Leo XIV’s installation Mass, United States Vice President JD Vance held private meetings on Monday with the pontiff and other senior Vatican officials. The discussions focused on religious freedom and the need for negotiation in regions of conflict.

According to a Vatican communiqué issued on 19 May, Vance and the Pope held a private meeting that morning, lasting approximately 45 minutes, from around 7:56 a.m. to 8:41 a.m. Following this, Vance met with the Vatican’s Secretary for Relations with States, British Archbishop Paul Gallagher.

“During the cordial talks held at the Secretariat of State, satisfaction at the good bilateral relations was reiterated, and the collaboration between Church and State was discussed, as well as some matters of special relevance to ecclesial life and religious freedom,” the statement said.

The parties also exchanged 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.”

United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio was also present with Vance at the meeting in the Secretariat of State.

A spokesperson for Vance said the meeting with Pope Leo began as a one-on-one discussion, after which Rubio joined. “Following that portion, they were joined by their spouses and the larger U.S. delegation,” the spokesperson said.

Vance had also attended Pope Leo’s installation Mass in St Peter’s Square on Sunday, after which he held talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

It marked Vance’s second visit to the Vatican in a matter of weeks. He had previously travelled to Rome with his family for a Good Friday service in St Peter’s Basilica, and was privately greeted by Pope Francis on Easter morning—just hours before Francis’s death following a stroke on 21 April.

Pope Francis had previously been sharply critical of the U.S. administration’s immigration policy, particularly its mass deportation strategy, and had singled out Vance over remarks on the Christian order of love—arguing that love begins with those close by before extending to others.

Then-Cardinal Robert Prevost, prior to his election as Pope Leo XIV, had also publicly criticised Vance’s position on social media platform X (formerly Twitter), writing: “JD Vance is wrong. Jesus doesn’t ask us to rank our love for others.”

Immigration was not explicitly mentioned in Monday’s communiqué, though it may have been among the “current international issues” referenced.

While in Rome last month, Vance had met with Gallagher and Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin on 19 April to discuss a range of topics, including migration and global peace efforts.

That meeting followed the circulation of detailed correspondence from a Peruvian lawyer and a human rights organisation to several senior Vatican officials. The letters outlined alleged financial crimes committed by the Sodalitium Christianae Vitae (SCV), a once-powerful Catholic association suppressed by Pope Francis and now in the process of liquidation by a Vatican-appointed delegate.

Among other claims, the correspondence alleged that individuals linked to the SCV had attempted to exploit a church–state agreement to secure tax breaks for profitable enterprises, with the resulting funds allegedly channelled to holding companies in the United States.

Officials who received the letters—seen by Crux—include Parolin; then-Cardinal Robert Prevost, now Pope Leo XIV; and Italian Sister Simona Brambilla, Prefect of the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, which oversaw the SCV’s suppression.

Spanish Monsignor Jordi Bertomeu, who investigated the SCV and is now the papal delegate responsible for its liquidation, said in an interview last month that the Vatican had asked financial authorities in the United States to assist in investigating the suspected international money laundering.

There had been reports that Vance would visit Israel following his trip to Rome. However, the White House has confirmed that his visit will not extend beyond Italy, citing logistical constraints. Vance is expected to return to the United States later this week.