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French President Emmanuel Macron and Pope Leo XIV held their first meeting on Friday, aligning in their criticism of US President Donald Trump’s approach to the Iran war as both leaders called for a diplomatic solution.
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Macron and his wife Brigitte spent about two hours at the Vatican, where talks with the pontiff focused on the Middle East crisis, multilateralism, climate change and humanitarian emergencies, according to press agencies present.
The meeting comes as both leaders have publicly condemned Trump’s handling of the Iran war.
Pope Leo XIV called Trump’s threats against Iranian civilisation “unacceptable” earlier this week, while Macron has accused the US president of fuelling instability with contradictory statements and aggressive tones.
At the end of the meeting, the leaders exchanged gifts. Macron gave the pontiff a French national basketball team jersey and a book on the reconstruction of Notre Dame Cathedral after the 2019 fire.
After his audience with the pope, Macron also held talks with Secretary of State Pietro Parolin.
The meeting marks Macron’s first encounter with Pope Leo XIV, the first US-born pontiff, almost one year after his election.
No meeting with Meloni
Macron’s visit to Rome notably excluded any meeting with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. The Elysée defined the visit as “republican and secular” with no bilateral political meetings with the Italian government planned.
The last official meeting between Macron and Meloni took place in 2025, when the French president was received at Palazzo Chigi for a bilateral aimed at relaunching dialogue after months of tensions.
Macron’s agenda focused on institutional and religious engagements, particularly at the Vatican, with no official stops at government offices.
The last meeting between Macron and Italian President Sergio Mattarella took place on 7 June 2023 at the Quirinale.
Macron’s visit to Rome began on Thursday with a stop at the Community of Sant’Egidio, where he took part in a moment of recollection in memory of Blessed Floribert Bwana Chui, a young Congolese man killed in Goma in 2007.
In the basilica of Santa Maria in Trastevere, the president stood in silence in the chapel that holds the jacket worn by the young customs officer and volunteer at the time of his death, after opposing the passage of rotten food destined for vulnerable populations.
In the afternoon on Friday, Macron is expected to pay a private visit to the Vicariate of Rome and the Basilica of St John Lateran, of which he is protocanonical according to a tradition dating back to the time of the kings of France.
