Global leaders to attend inaugural Mass of Pope Leo XIV in Rome
Dignitaries from around the globe are expected to attend the inaugural Mass of Pope Leo on Sunday, May 18. The Vatican said a quarter of 1 million people are expected to pack into St. Peter’s Square for the event.
U.S. Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio are among the expected dignitaries. Vance was the last public official to meet with Pope Francis. He reportedly requested a meeting with Pope Leo while in Rome.
Vatican Secretary of State Pietro Parolin told journalists a face-to-face meeting is a possibility. Rubio met with Parolin as well as the Vatican’s peace envoy Cardinal Matteo Zuppi on Saturday. Rubio called the Vatican’s efforts in the conflict “positive and constructive.“
During their meeting at the U.S. Embassy in Rome, Rubio thanked Zuppi for the Vatican’s humanitarian role.
“We are grateful for their long-standing efforts, not simply on trying to broker peace but on the exchanges of prisoners,” Rubio said. “There are children that have currently been taken from their homes that the Ukrainians would like to see returned, and they — the Holy See — has been very involved in that regard.”
The Vatican reported Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will be in attendance at the inaugural Mass. Russia will be represented by Culture Minister Olga Lyubimova, the Vatican said.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s team confirmed he will be at the Mass and said while in Rome, he’s hoping to meet other international leaders.
Also expected are the presidents of Israel, Peru and Nigeria, the prime ministers of Italy and Australia, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen.
Many European royals will also be present, including Spain’s King Felipe and Queen Letizia.
On May 8, 133 cardinals named former Cardinal Robert Prevost of the United States, making him the first American pope in world history. Prevost, 69, took the name Leo XIV.
Pope Leo was born in Chicago and became a missionary, spending much of his career in Peru as a minister. He was also the prefect of the Vatican’s Dicastery of Bishops, starting in 2023 under Pope Francis. He was then promoted to cardinal-bishop in February by the former pope.
The selection of Prevost, a citizen from a world “superpower,” is a rare one, as the Vatican has largely gone the other direction in its selection of new popes.
Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
