ROME (AP) 鈥 U.S. Vice President JD Vance extended an invitation to Pope Leo XIV to visit the United States during a meeting at the Vatican on Monday ahead of a flurry of U.S.-led diplomatic efforts to make progress on a ceasefire in Russia鈥檚 war in Ukraine.
Vance gave the first American pope a letter from U.S. President Donald Trump and the first lady inviting him. The Chicago-born pope took the letter and put it on his desk and was heard saying 鈥渁t some point,鈥 in the video footage of the meeting provided by Vatican Media.
Vance, who in 2019, also gave the Augustinian pope a copy of two of St. Augustine's most seminal works, 鈥淭he City of God" and "On Christian Doctrine,鈥 the vice president's office said. Another gift: A Chicago Bears T-shirt with Leo's name on it.
鈥淎s you can probably imagine, people in the United States are extremely excited about you,鈥 Vance told Leo as they exchanged gifts.
Leo gave Vance a bronze sculpture with the words in Italian 鈥淧eace is a fragile flower,鈥 and a coffee-table sized picture book of the papal apartments in the Apostolic Palace. Leo noted that Francis had chosen not to live in them and added, 鈥淎nd I may live in, but it's not totally decided.鈥
Vance led the U.S. delegation to Sunday's formal Mass of the first American pope. Joining him at the meeting on Monday was Secretary of State Marco Rubio, also a Catholic, Vance spokesperson Luke Schroeder said. The two then also met with the Vatican foreign minister, Archbishop Paul Gallagher.
鈥淭here was an exchange of views on some current international issues, calling for respect for humanitarian law and international law in areas of conflict and for a negotiated solution between the parties involved,鈥 according to a Vatican statement after their meeting.
The Vatican listed Vance's delegation as the first of several private audiences Leo was having Monday with people who had come to Rome for his inaugural Mass, including other Christian leaders and a group of faithful from his old diocese in .
The Vatican, which was largely sidelined during the first three years of Russia鈥檚 invasion of Ukraine, has while continuing humanitarian efforts to facilitate prisoner swaps and reunite Ukrainian children taken by Russia.
After greeting Leo briefly at the end of Sunday鈥檚 Mass, Vance spent the rest of the day in separate meetings, including with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. He also met with European Union Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Italy鈥檚 Premier Giorgia Meloni, who said she hoped could be a 鈥渘ew beginning.鈥
In the evening, Meloni spoke by phone with U.S. President Donald Trump and several other European leaders ahead of Trump's with Russia's President Vladimir Putin on Monday, according to a statement from Meloni's office.
鈥楨very Effort鈥
Leo, the former Cardinal Robert Prevost, is a Chicago-born Augustinian missionary who spent the bulk of his ministry in Chiclayo, a commercial city of around 800,000 on Peru鈥檚 northern Pacific coast.
In the days since his May 8 election, Leo has vowed to help bring peace to Ukraine. He also has emphasized his continuity with Pope Francis, who made caring for migrants and the poor a priority of his pontificate.
Before his election, news articles on X that were critical of the Trump administration鈥檚 plans for
Vance was one of the to meet with Francis before The two had tangled over migration, with Francis the Trump administration's deportation plan and correcting Vance's theological justification for it.
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