Marco Rubio, Secretary of State of the United States, arrived this Thursday at the Vatican for a private audience with Pope León XIV at the Apostolic Palace, in a visit aimed at mending relations between Washington and the Holy See following weeks of open tension between the pontiff and President Donald Trump.
Rubio, of the Catholic faith, arrived at 11:15 local time and was received by the Bosnian Archbishop Peter Rajic, the new prefect of the Papal Household.
The delegation crossed St. Peter's Square under strict security protocols before entering the small papal state through the Arch of the Bells, reserved for authorities.
Cuba, at the center of the agenda
Beyond the diplomatic tensions, Cuba occupies a central role in the meeting.
In a press conference on Tuesday at the White House, Rubio revealed that he wants to discuss the distribution of humanitarian aid in Cuba through the Catholic Church, stating that the Díaz-Canel regime hinders that distribution.
"We are willing to provide more humanitarian aid to Cuba, but the Cuban regime must allow us to do so," stated the Secretary of State, as reported by AFP.
In February 2026, the United States sent six million dollars in aid to Cuba through Cáritas Cuba.
There are also nine million additional dollars allocated for victims of Hurricane Melissa in the eastern part of the island that Washington wants to channel through ecclesiastical means, but which the regime blocks.
The Vatican has a well-established history as a mediator between Washington and Havana: it facilitated the rapprochement between Obama and Raúl Castro from 2014 to 2016, and under the Biden administration, it contributed to the release of 553 Cuban prisoners.
Rubio, son of Cuban immigrants who arrived in the United States in 1956, has led the efforts of the Trump administration to press the communist government of the island.
The Shadow of the Trump-León XIV Clash
The visit comes amid unprecedented tension between Trump and the pope, triggered by the war that the United States and Israel launched against Iran.
On April 7, the pope described Trump’s threat to destroy "an entire Iranian civilization" as "truly unacceptable."
Trump responded on Truth Social calling the pope "weak on crime" and "terrible on foreign policy", and he posted an AI-generated image depicting himself with iconography similar to Jesus Christ.
The pope responded unperturbed: “I am not afraid of the Trump administration.” This week, Trump struck again, accusing the pontiff of “endangering many Catholics” by believing that “it is fine for Iran to have a nuclear weapon.”
Rubio denied that the trip is motivated by that clash and emphasized that "there is much to discuss with the Vatican," citing religious freedom as a common ground between both parties.
A meeting described as a "sincere conversation."
The cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican Secretary of State, with whom Rubio also met after the papal audience, previewed the tone of the meeting on Wednesday:
"I imagine we will discuss everything that has happened in recent days; we cannot avoid touching on these issues," he stated to reporters, according to AFP.
Parolin confirmed that they would address international topics such as Latin America, Cuba, and Lebanon, and he summarized the Vatican's position in two words:
“Let’s listen to it.” The United States Ambassador to the Holy See, Brian Burch, described the meeting as “a sincere conversation.”
It is the second meeting between Rubio and León XIV: the first took place on May 19, 2025, when Rubio attended alongside Vice President JD Vance, one day after the inaugural Mass of the papacy.
This time, it is Rubio -not Vance- who is leading the redirection of the relationship with the Holy See.
After the visit to the Vatican, Rubio is scheduled to meet tomorrow with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who defended the Pope and was subsequently criticized by Trump, who threatened to withdraw American troops from Italy, Spain, and Germany.
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