Macron Meets Pope Leo to Discuss Middle East War and Peace Efforts
VATICAN CITY — French President Emmanuel Macron arrived at the Vatican on Friday for his first meeting with Pope Leo XIV, a private audience expected to focus heavily on the Iran war and efforts to restore peace in the Middle East.
Macron, accompanied by his wife Brigitte after flying to Rome on Thursday, met the US-born pontiff and the Vatican’s secretary of state, Pietro Parolin. A spokesman for Macron’s office said the two leaders would primarily discuss “the resolution of the crisis in the Middle East,” with particular attention to Lebanon, where deadly Israeli strikes have threatened this week’s temporary truce between the US and Iran.
Pope Leo visited Lebanon late last year during his first trip abroad, which also included Turkiye, and has repeatedly prayed for conflict victims there. Macron has also urged for Lebanon to be included in any ceasefire.
On Thursday evening, Macron discussed the conflict with representatives of the Catholic community of Sant’Egidio, an informal diplomatic channel of the Holy See active on Middle Eastern and humanitarian issues. The community’s founder, Andrea Riccardi, called Macron “a man of peace” who “can do a lot” to support Lebanese authorities, adding that Lebanon “must not be left alone.”
Both Macron and the Chicago-born pontiff have spoken out against US President Donald Trump’s handling of the war, which began with US-Israeli attacks on Iran. Leo condemned threats to civilian targets as “unacceptable” without naming Trump, while Macron said there was “too much talk, and it’s all over the place.” Both welcomed the truce and have pushed for a diplomatic solution.
The US government on Thursday denied a report that the Vatican’s US envoy was summoned in January over a papal speech condemning “diplomacy based on force,” seen as aimed at the Trump administration.
Macron, though not a practicing Catholic, had a good relationship with Pope Francis, meeting him three times. Friday’s meeting comes three days before the pope’s historic visit to Algeria, the first ever by a pontiff to the former French colony.
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