U.S. Vice President JD Vance extended an invitation to Pope Leo XIV to visit the United States during a meeting at the Vatican on Monday ahead of a flurry of U.S.-led diplomatic efforts to make progress on a ceasefire in Russia’s war in Ukraine.

Pope Leo XIV, a U.S. citizen who as a cardinal criticised the Trump administration's hard-line immigration policies, met at the Vatican on Monday with U.S. Vice President JD Vance, who converted to Roman Catholicism as an adult.

The Trump administration seeks to improve ties, by working together on resolving the war in Ukraine and de-emphasizing disagreements over U.S. migrant policy.