The Pope will receive Marco Rubio at the Vatican on 7 May

Pope Leo XIV will reportedly receive US Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the Vatican on Thursday 7 May, although the meeting is not yet on the Pontiff's official agenda. According to the same sources, Rubio will also meet Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin on the same day.

These encounters are very significant in light of the recent tensions between President Donald Trump and the Pope with Trump launching harsh attacks on the Pontiff: "Weak and lousy on foreign policy", "he doesn't understand anything", "he doesn't know what's going on". And with the Pope sparing no retort: "I am not afraid of him". Then, from Cameroon, Leo XIV delivered a speech on the "world devastated by a handful of tyrants", adding: "Woe to those who manipulate religion and the very name of God for their own military, economic and political interests".

US President Trump, feeling called into question, replied: 'I have a right to disagree with the Pontiff and I do not want to meet him. He should know that Iran has killed more than 42,000 people in recent months'.

As anticipated by Corriere della Sera, Rubio will be in Rome next Thursday and Friday for a tour of meetings between the Holy See and the executive. The attempt is to overcome the 'thaw' in bilateral relations. This is Rubio's third visit to Italia, following last May's visit to Villa Madama and his presence at the opening of the Winter Olympics, with J.D. Vance, in February.

In addition to the meetings at the Vatican, Rubio is expected to meet Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani and with him on the same day he will see Defence Minister Guido Crosetto for lunch. A face-to-face meeting between the US secretary and Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is not excluded, but not confirmed either: 'I want to meet her,' he let it be known.