Pope Leo XIV met with a prominent figure, US Vice President JD Vance, on Monday, just as the US increased its efforts toward a ceasefire in the ongoing war in Ukraine.
Vance’s motorcade was spotted entering Vatican City shortly after 7:30 AM.
As a recent Catholic convert, Vance led the US delegation during a public ceremony to inaugurate the first American bishop appointed by the Pope.
Among those accompanying Vance was Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who shares the Catholic faith.
The Vatican noted that Vance’s visit was the first from a delegation attending his inaugural Mass, including supporters from his former parish in Chiclayo, Peru, marking one of the few private meetings Pope Leo held that day.
During the first three years of the war, the Vatican took a more passive stance, but now is pushing to facilitate peace negotiations and continue humanitarian work, such as promoting prisoner exchanges and reuniting Ukrainian children taken by Russia.
After a brief introduction to the Pope following Sunday Mass, Vance spent additional time in meetings with Ukrainian President Voldy Miezelensky and EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
Pope Leo, who hails from Chicago like Cardinal Robert Prebost, has considerable ties to Chiclayo, a bustling city on the northern coast of Peru with a population of around 800,000.
Since assuming office on May 8th, Pope Leo has committed to doing “everything possible” to help secure peace in Ukraine. He has also stressed that he intends to continue Pope Francis’ legacy of caring for immigrants and the underprivileged, which were core values of his papacy.
Before his election, Prevost had publicly criticized the Trump administration’s aggressive deportation plans in a news article he shared on social media.
Interestingly, Vance happened to be among the last foreign dignitaries to see Pope Francis before his passing on April 21.
On that same day, President Donald Trump had plans for separate discussions with both Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Voldimia, along with conversations with leaders of NATO.
