Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio will attend the inaugural Mass of Pope Leo XIV in the city of Vatican on Sunday, a source familiar with confirmed plans to NBC News.
Leo is the first American Pope, who marks an important moment for American Catholics.
Vance, who is Catholic, previously met with Pope Francis before his death last month.
The vice president, Rubio and the second lady Usha Vance, will be among the United States delegation that will attend the Mass, which marks the formal installation of the first Pope born in the United States. The new Pope will preside over an opening mass on Sunday, which will take place in the Plaza de San Pedro, according to the Vatican.
Vance and Rubio’s plans were first reported by Bloomberg.
Leo, who was born Robert Prevost in Chicago, was chosen Pope by a conclave last week.
Before its cardinal elevation to Pope, Prevost occasionally published on social networks, including some messages that seemed to be critical of Vance, President Donald Trump and his worldview.
Leo, then Prevost, has previously published links to X highlighting critical stories of the vice president. In a publication, he cited the head of the article, which said: “JD Vance is wrong: Jesus does not ask us to classify our love for others.”
Vance, who became Catholicism in 2019, congratulated Leo after the news of his choice.
“I am sure that millions of American Catholics and other Christians will pray for their successful work leading the Church,” wrote the vice president in X. “May God bless him!”
When asked about his reaction to Leo’s rise last week in an interview with conservative commentator Hugh Hewitt, Vance recognized his possible political differences and at the same time minimized them.
“You know, people ask:“ Is it a conservative or is it liberal? Will President Trump and JD Vance attack in certain things? … And I suppose my answer to this is that it is very difficult to fit a 2,000 -year -old institution in the 2025 America policy, “Vance to Hewitt told Hewitt.” I try not to do that. “
Vance continued, saying he was “sure he will say many things that I love.”
“I am sure that he will say some things that I do not agree with, but I will continue to pray for him and the Church in spite of everything and through everything, and that will be the way he handles it,” said the vice president.
After Leo was announced as the new Pope, Trump said in a publication to Truth Social that Leo’s team was “a great honor for our country.”
“I hope to meet Pope Leo XIV,” Trump wrote at that time. “It will be a very significant moment!”
The White House became controversy in the days before the conclave, when Trump published an artificial image generated by intelligence that represented himself as the Pope. The movement generated a violent reaction from some Catholics, who criticized the image as in bad taste.
“There is nothing intelligent or fun in this image, Mr. President,” said the Catholic conference of the New York state in a position to X. separately, Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York told NBC News that the post “was not good”, and former Italian prime minister Matteo Matteo Renzi said the post “offends believers.”
