Vice President JD Vance greeted Pope Leo XIV on Sunday for the Catholic leader’s inaugural mass in Vatican City, accompanied by his wife, second lady Usha Vance, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio and his wife, Jeanette Rubio.
The leaders exchanged greetings prior to leaving St. Peter’s Square and video footage shows Vance and Rubio shaking hands with the pope, the Hill reported. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and his wife also attended the event.
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Vance headed up the U.S. delegation to the event, and it is important to note that Zelensky also greeted the pope, who “recently offered to host leaders from Russia and Ukraine at the Vatican to broker a peace deal in their ongoing war,” the Hill article said.
According to a social media post Sunday from Zelensky, he met with Vance and Rubio during their time in Rome.
Zelensky stated, “We discussed negotiations in Istanbul to where the Russians sent a low level delegation of non-decision-makers. I reaffirmed that Ukraine is ready to be engaged in real diplomacy and underscored the importance of a full and unconditional ceasefire as soon as possible.”
The Ukrainian president also noted the leaders spoke about “the need for sanctions against Russia, bilateral trade, defense cooperation, battlefield situation and upcoming prisoners exchange” and how they would move forward to achieve “a just and durable peace.”
He added, “Thank you to all American people for the support and leadership in saving lives.”
Good meeting with @VP J. D. Vance and Secretary of State @SecRubio in Rome.
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) May 18, 2025
During our talks we discussed negotiations in Istanbul to where the Russians sent a low level delegation of non-decision-makers. I reaffirmed that Ukraine is ready to be engaged in real diplomacy and… pic.twitter.com/ko2cKKYvCZ
The pope met privately with Zelensky after the mass concluded, according to Breitbart News.
“Ahead of the Mass, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who also attended on Sunday alongside Catholic convert Vice President JD Vance, suggested that the Vatican could potentially serve as a mediator to help end the war with Russia,” the outlet said.
Rubio on Saturday said the Vatican could serve as a venue for peace talks regarding the war, the Associated Press (AP) reported.
When reporters asked him if the Vatican could be a peace broker, he said, “I wouldn’t call it broker, but it’s certainly — I think it’s a place that both sides would be comfortable going.”
“So we’ll talk about all of that and obviously always grateful to the Vatican for their willingness to play this constructive and positive role,” he added.
