Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio enjoyed a private audience with Pope Leo XIV, bringing with them a message from the White House.
The two Catholic statesmen met with the Chicago-born pontiff on Monday after attending his inaugural mass over the weekend, which drew in over 200,000 attendees. Their audience began with the traditional exchanging of gifts.
Vance presented the Midwest pope with a blue-and-orange Chicago Bears jersey with “Pope Leo XIV” embroidered on the back.
“Good choice,” the pope can be heard saying on video.
“As you can probably imagine, people in the United States are extremely excited about you,” Vance told the pontiff.
Vance also gifted Leo XIV a copy of The City of God by the 5th-century bishop and theologian St. Augustine of Hippo, a notable gesture of commonality between the leaders.
Leo XIV entered the clergy as a member of the Order of Saint Augustine. His spirituality and theology evolved through this lens, and he regularly cites the saint in his ministry.
Vance acknowledged the writings of St. Augustine as a major factor in his decision to convert to Catholicism in 2019, and took the confirmation name “Augustine” upon entering the Church. In a 2020 article chronicling his conversion to Catholicism, he wrote that The City of God contains the “best criticism of our modern age I’d ever read.”
The same article also offered a glimpse into Vance’s philosophy on the Petrine office: “My growing view is that too many American Catholics have failed to show proper deference to the papacy, treating the pope as a political figure to be criticized or praised according to their whims.”
A letter from President Donald Trump was also given to Leo XIV.
The pope gifted the vice president a bronze sculpture with an Italian inscription that translates to “Peace is a fragile flower.” He also gifted him a large photography book containing images of the Papal Apartments.
The exact nature of their discussions when the reporters exited and the doors closed is unknown, but they seemed to focus on causes for peace in war-torn regions such as Ukraine and Gaza.
“There 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,” the Vatican press office said.
“I think the Vatican, in particular, the pope, is going to be a great advocate of world peace,” Vance said as he prepared to depart on Monday. “So we’re going to find some very important things to work together on.”
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt later revealed the contents of Trump’s letter during her Monday press conference.
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“The Vice President passed along a letter to the pope from the President and the first lady extending their warm wishes and inviting [him] to the White House as soon as [he] possibly can come,” Leavitt said.
The president has routinely expressed interest in meeting with Leo XIV since the pontiff was elected, calling the ascension of an American to the Holy See “an honor” for the country.