Marco Rubio Visits Vatican and Rome May 7 to Ease Trump-Pope Leo Tensions

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is set to travel to Italy and the Vatican in a visit scheduled for Thursday 7 May, with multiple outlets describing it as an effort to ease tensions after President Donald Trump’s public clash with Pope Leo XIV.

Sky TG24 reported that Rubio “ha in programma la prossima settimana una visita in Italia, prima in Vaticano e poi a Roma” and said the meeting with the pope “dovrebbe svolgersi giovedì 7 maggio.”

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The Washington Post similarly said Rubio is “slated to travel to Italy to meet with Pope Leo XIV this week,” adding that the encounter would be “on Thursday,” according to “a senior Vatican official.”

South China Morning Post also placed the Vatican meeting “on Thursday,” citing “a Vatican source,” and said it was intended to “thaw” relations after Trump’s row with the pontiff.

Several reports tied the trip to meetings with Italian officials, with Sky TG24 saying Rubio would meet “il cardinale Segretario di Stato, Pietro Parolin” on the same day and that Corriere della Sera expected meetings with “i ministri degli Esteri, Antonio Tajani, e della Difesa, Guido Crosetto.”

The Guardian described Rubio as being in Rome on Thursday and Friday, saying the visit would mark “the one-year anniversary of the papacy of Pope Leo,” and reported that Rubio would meet “Pietro Parolin” and “Antonio Tajani.”

Politico.eu characterized the May 7-8 trip as an attempt to “thaw relations” after Trump’s mid-April attacks on both Pope Leo and Giorgia Meloni, while Fox News said Rubio was “reportedly planning to travel to the Vatican and Italy this week” for meetings aimed at “steadying relations.”

The Rubio trip is being framed across outlets as a diplomatic response to the deterioration in U.S.-Vatican relations triggered by Trump’s criticism of Pope Leo XIV’s anti-war rhetoric, particularly around the war in Iran.

The Washington Post said the visit comes “amid a deterioration in relations between the United States and the Vatican, as well as Italy,” and linked it to Trump’s “withering criticism” of the “Chicago-born pope last month.”

Daily Sabah

It reported that Trump threatened to withdraw troops from Italy and Spain after both countries denied the use of their bases for operations related to the war in Iran, and it quoted Trump’s social-media claim that “He wasn’t on any list to be Pope, and was only put there by the Church because he was an American.”

The Washington Post also quoted Pope Leo’s Palm Sunday remarks, including that God “does not listen to the prayers of those who wage war,” and the scripture line “Even though you make many prayers, I will not listen — your hands are full of blood.”

The Guardian likewise tied the trip to Trump’s “unprecedented broadside against Leo over the pontiff’s condemnation of the US-Israeli war on Iran,” and said the mission was described by Corriere della Sera as “not impossible, but complicated.”

Fox News described the pope’s criticism of Trump’s peacemaking efforts in the Middle East and said Trump attacked Leo as “WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy,” adding that Leo responded with “I have no fear of the Trump administration.”

Daily Sabah and Politico.eu both emphasized that the pope’s anti-war stance, including after U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran, triggered Trump’s ire, with Daily Sabah stating that Leo declared Trump’s threat to destroy Iran “unacceptable” and urged Americans to demand lawmakers “work for peace.”

Multiple reports also described the personal dimension of the dispute, with Trump saying “I’m not a fan of Pope Leo” and accusing him of “toying with a country that wants a nuclear weapon,” as The Times reported, while Politico.eu said Trump shared an AI-generated image of himself as a Christ-like figure and removed it after criticism.

In parallel, the Pentagon’s troop drawdown announcements were presented as part of the broader strain, with The Guardian noting that on Friday it announced “withdrawing 5,000 troops from Germany” and that Trump threatened the same for Italy and Spain.

Alongside the Vatican meeting, the Rubio itinerary is repeatedly described as including Italian government officials, while the possibility of a direct meeting with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is treated as uncertain or conditional depending on the outlet.

“Trending: West Asia war updates Iran-US deal India emergency alert MI IPL Playoffs Met Gala 2026 advertisement Rubio to visit Vatican and Rome amid tensions after Trump-Pope clash FP News Desk _•_ May 3, 2026, 16:04:15 IST advertisement US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is set to visit Rome and the Vatican later this week, in a trip that comes amid strained relations between Washington and the Catholic leadership”

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Sky TG24 said Rubio would meet “il cardinale Segretario di Stato, Pietro Parolin” on Thursday and that Corriere della Sera expected meetings with “i ministri degli Esteri, Antonio Tajani, e della Difesa, Guido Crosetto,” while also reporting that Rubio “avrebbe chiesto anche di incontrare la premier Giorgia Meloni.”

The Guardian similarly said Rubio “asked to meet the prime minister Giorgia Meloni, but the request had not yet been granted,” and it reported that he would meet “Pietro Parolin on Thursday and Tajani on Friday,” with an appointment with “defence minister Guido Crosetto” described as not yet officially scheduled by a foreign ministry source.

South China Morning Post and Daily Sabah both said Rubio would meet Parolin and Antonio Tajani, with South China Morning Post citing an Italian government source that Rubio would meet “Vatican Secretary of State Pietro Parolin and Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani.”

Virgilio reported that Rubio would arrive at the Holy See on Thursday 7 May and, after meeting “l’omologo Pietro Parolin,” would go to the Farnesina to meet “il ministro Antonio Tajani,” before a work lunch at Villa Madama with “il ministro della Difesa Guido Crosetto.”

Virgilio also said that, “Al momento, tra gli incontri a Roma non risulterebbe in agenda quello con Giorgia Meloni,” but added that Palazzo Chigi did not exclude the premier meeting Rubio on Friday 8 May, citing that Rubio’s staff “avrebbe sottolineato come non ci siano ragioni per non organizzare il faccia a faccia.”

The Times reported that Rubio was expected to hold talks with senior members of Meloni’s government “including the defence minister Guido Crosetto and foreign minister Antonio Tajani,” while also stating “there is no talk of a meeting with the prime minister.”

Fox News likewise said it was uncertain whether Rubio would meet the pope and described the schedule as aimed at easing tensions between Washington and Rome after Trump publicly criticized Meloni over her stance on the Iran war and her defense of the pope.

The dispute over Meloni’s defense of the pope is reflected in Trump’s quoted reaction, with Sky TG24 saying Trump told Corriere della Sera: “Sono scioccato da lei. Pensavo che avesse coraggio, mi sbagliavo,” and with The Washington Post quoting Trump as saying “I thought she had courage, but I was wrong.”

While the core reporting converges on Rubio’s Rome and Vatican schedule and the aim of “thawing” relations, outlets differ in how they characterize the political context and the immediacy of specific meetings.

The Guardian described the trip as “reportedly aimed at thawing frosty relations with the Italian government and the Vatican,” and said Rubio would be in Rome on “Thursday and Friday,” linking it to the “one-year anniversary of the papacy of Pope Leo.”

La Nación

Politico.eu similarly said the May 7-8 trip was being characterized by Italian media as an effort to “thaw relations,” but it emphasized the timing “barely a fortnight after Trump attacked Pope Leo XIV” and “criticized Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.”

The Washington Post framed the visit as occurring “amid a deterioration in relations” and highlighted that it would be “the first high-ranking encounter between the pontiff and a top administration official since President Donald Trump issued withering criticism” of Pope Leo.

Fox News, by contrast, foregrounded the troop drawdown context, saying the visit would come “at a tense moment for U.S.-European relations” and tying it to the Pentagon’s announcement of “a drawdown of 5,000 U.S. troops from Germany” and Trump’s statement that he “probably should” weigh a drawdown for NATO in Italy.

South China Morning Post and Daily Sabah both used the “thaw” framing but differed in their emphasis on confirmation, with South China Morning Post citing a “Vatican source” and Daily Sabah saying Italian government sources reported the plan “in a visit seen as an effort to ease tensions.”

Sky TG24 and Virgilio both provided more granular sequencing inside Rome, with Sky TG24 describing the pope meeting on Thursday 7 May and Virgilio describing a Farnesina meeting with Antonio Tajani followed by a “colazione di lavoro a Villa Madama” with Guido Crosetto.

The Times added a different angle by noting that Rubio’s visit would be “Rubio’s third in 12 months” and by quoting Trump’s earlier remarks about Leo, including “I’m not a fan of Pope Leo,” while also reporting that “A spokesperson for Palazzo Chigi” confirmed Rubio was expected to visit Italy.

Even when outlets agreed on the meeting with Parolin and Tajani, they diverged on whether Crosetto’s meeting was officially scheduled, with The Guardian saying the foreign ministry source indicated it had not yet been officially scheduled and Sky TG24 listing Crosetto among expected meetings.

The reporting ties the Rubio visit to immediate diplomatic stakes that extend beyond the Vatican, including U.S. troop posture in Europe and the broader management of the Iran war dispute.

The Guardian said the trip was aimed at thawing relations with both Rome and the Vatican, and it placed the Vatican meeting against a backdrop of Trump’s threats to withdraw forces, noting that “On Friday, the Pentagon announced it was withdrawing 5,000 troops from Germany in response to the country’s chancellor, Friedrich Merz,” and that “Trump has suggested that number may increase.”

POLITICO.eu

It also described a day earlier threat to withdraw troops from Italy and Spain, and it quoted Crosetto rejecting accusations Rome had not helped the U.S., saying “he did not understand Trump’s motives for the threat to withdraw US troops from Italy and rejected accusations Rome had not helped the US, especially in relation to maritime security.”

Fox News similarly said Trump added he “probably should” weigh a drawdown of U.S. troops for NATO in Italy, and it quoted Trump: “Why shouldn’t I? Italy has not been of any help to us, and Spain has been horrible.”

The Washington Post connected the visit to the deterioration in relations between the United States and Italy as well as the Vatican, and it reported that Trump threatened to withdraw troops from Italy and Spain after both countries denied the use of their bases for operations related to the war in Iran.

In parallel, the pope’s stance is presented as continuing, with the Washington Post quoting Leo’s Palm Sunday warning that God “does not listen to the prayers of those who wage war,” and with Fox News quoting Pope Leo’s response that he had “no fear of the Trump administration” and that he would not enter into debate.

The Times added that Leo has “gradually escalated his strong opposition to the war in Iran,” and it said the pope has “specifically” denounced attempts to invoke God’s name to back the war.

Beyond diplomacy, the reporting also points to how the pope’s public posture is shaping U.S. Catholic politics, with The Washington Post quoting Washington Archbishop Robert McElroy saying, “He has come to be more specific,” and adding, “There is no prophetic moral voice in the world at this time — other than Pope Leo.”

Across outlets, the next steps are framed as the outcome of Rubio’s meetings with Parolin, Tajani, and potentially Meloni, with the Guardian saying the request to meet Meloni had not yet been granted and with Sky TG24 reporting that a face-to-face was “non è escluso, ma nemmeno confermato.”