JD Vance meets Pope Leo XIV on the Vatican, offers him a Chicago Bears jersey

Rome — Pope Leo XIV and Vice President JD Vance met on the Vatican on Monday forward of a flurry of U.S.-led diplomatic efforts aimed toward making progress on a ceasefire in Russia’s conflict in Ukraine. Vance, a Catholic convert, had led the U.S. delegation to the formal Mass opening the preach of the primary American pope. Becoming a member of him on the assembly on Monday was Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who can also be Catholic, Vance spokesperson Luke Schroeder stated.

“There was an alternate of views on some present worldwide points, calling for respect for humanitarian legislation and worldwide legislation in areas of battle and for a negotiated answer between the events concerned,” in line with a Vatican assertion after their assembly.

There was additionally a customary alternate of items, with Vance presenting the Chicago-born pontiff a Bears jersey bearing the title “Pope Leo” and quantity “XIV.” The pope can also be a White Sox fan, his brother confirmed earlier this month.

Vance’s workplace stated he additionally gave the pope two books by St. Augustine, “The Metropolis of God” and “On “Christian Doctrine.” The vice chairman’s workplace famous that Vance selected St. Augustine as his patron saint when he transformed to Catholicism and was baptized in 2019. Pope Leo had beforehand been head of the Augustinian order worldwide.

The Vatican listed Vance’s delegation as the primary of a number of personal audiences Leo was having Monday with individuals who had come to Rome for his inaugural Mass, together with different Christian leaders and a bunch of devoted from his outdated diocese in Chiclayo, Peru.

The Vatican, which was largely sidelined through the first three years of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, has supplied to host any peace talks whereas persevering with humanitarian efforts to facilitate prisoner swaps and reunite Ukrainian kids taken by Russia.

After greeting Leo briefly on the finish of Sunday’s Mass, Vance spent the remainder of the day in separate conferences, together with with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. He additionally met with European Union Fee President Ursula von der Leyen and Italy’s Premier Giorgia Meloni, who stated she hoped the trialateral assembly may very well be a “new starting.”

Within the night, Meloni spoke by cellphone with President Trump and several other different European leaders forward of Mr. Trump’s anticipated name with Russia’s President Vladimir Putin on Monday, in line with a press release from Meloni’s workplace.

Leo, the previous Cardinal Robert Prevost, is a Chicago-born Augustinian missionary who spent the majority of his ministry in Chiclayo, a business metropolis of round 800,000 on Peru’s northern Pacific coast.

Within the days since his Might 8 election, Leo has vowed “each effort” to assist deliver peace to Ukraine. He additionally has emphasised his continuity with Pope Francis, who made caring for migrants and the poor a precedence of his preach.

Earlier than his election, Prevost shared information articles on X that had been important of the Trump administration’s plans for mass deportations of migrants.

Vance was one of many final overseas officers to fulfill with Francis earlier than the Argentine pope’s April 21 demise. The 2 had tangled over migration, with Francis publicly rebuking the Trump administration’s deportation plan and correcting Vance’s theological justification for it.