Pope Leo XVI received four heads of state and government, in addition to US Vice President J.D. Vance, on May 19, 2025, the day after the inaugural Mass of his pontificate. He met with the presidents of Colombia and Georgia, as well as the Prime Minister of Australia, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Worship of Argentina.
After an hour and 15 minutes greeting the members of more than 150 foreign delegations present at the inaugural Mass of his pontificate, Pope Leo XIV continued the initiation into his new diplomatic responsibilities at the start of the week.
Eight audiences awaited the Pontiff on his first post-inauguration Monday morning.
The diplomatic agenda was busy, as Leo received five political representatives:
US Vice President J.D. Vance, in a context marked by the Russian-Ukrainian conflict;
Argentina's Minister of Foreign Affairs and Worship, Gerardo Werthein;
Colombian President Gustavo Petro;
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese; and
Georgian President Mikheil Kavelashvili.
Interfaith meeting
In addition to these audiences, Pope Leo XIV met with a large interfaith and ecumenical delegation composed of representatives who had participated in the inaugural Mass of his pontificate the previous day.
He also received in private audience the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, Bartholomew I, as the prospect of a joint event in Turkey — and thus the Pontiff's first foreign trip — to mark the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea seems possible soon.
The Pope also received a delegation from the city of Chiclayo in Peru, where he was bishop from 2014 to 2023, when Pope Francis called him to Rome to head the Dicastery for Bishops.
