U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio will travel to Rome this week for meetings with the Italian government and the Vatican. Scheduled for Thursday and Friday, the visit is reportedly aimed at thawing frosty relations with the Holy See and the government of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
The trip coincides with the one-year anniversary of the papacy of Pope Leo XIV, the first US-born leader of the Catholic Church. The diplomatic effort follows extraordinary criticism from President Donald Trump, who attacked the pontiff's anti-war rhetoric on social media, drawing criticism from Christians across the political spectrum.
Further straining relations, President Trump and Prime Minister Meloni have clashed over the Iran war and Meloni's defense of Pope Leo XIV. The diplomatic visit also follows a recent Pentagon announcement regarding the drawdown of 5,000 U.S. troops from Germany, the largest U.S. base in Europe.