Vatican City, Holy See (AFP)-Pope Leo XIV received US Vice President JD Vance and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the Vatican Monday, ahead of a US-led push to end the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

The Vatican released photographs of Vance and Rubio smiling as they met with the Chicago-born pontiff, who was elected as head of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics on May 8 — the first pope from the United States.

The pair were among the 200,000 dignitaries, royals and faithful who had gathered Sunday to mark the official start of Leo’s papacy at an inauguration mass in St Peter’s Square.

Leo, 69, has made peace the key word of his papacy so far and was expected to talk to Vance and Rubio about the US administration’s role in pushing for an end to the Russia-Ukraine conflict in particular.

Vance handed Leo an invitation from US President Donald Trump to visit the White House, his spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt told reporters in Washington, adding that Trump hoped the visit would happen as soon as possible.

Trump will hold a phone call with Russia’s Vladimir Putin later Monday as part of his efforts to end the war set off by Moscow’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

Vance also met Monday with the Holy See’s Secretary for Relations with States, Paul Richard Gallagher, for “cordial talks” during which they expressed “satisfaction at the good bilateral relations”, the Vatican said.

There was also “an exchange of views on some current international issues, calling for respect for humanitarian law and international law in areas of conflict and for a negotiated solution between the parties involved”, it said.

There was a flurry of diplomatic meetings on the sidelines of Leo’s inauguration, with world dignitaries discussing both Israel’s offensive in Gaza and the Ukraine conflict.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky, who was present at the inauguration mass, met with Leo for his first private audience Sunday.

He also sat down with Vance and Rubio to discuss “their shared goal of ending the bloodshed in Ukraine,” according to the vice president’s office.

– ‘Every effort’ –

Leo offered last week to mediate between leaders of countries at war, saying that he himself “will make every effort so that this peace may prevail”.

And the pope’s number two, Secretary of State Pietro Parolin, said Friday Leo “may offer the Vatican for a direct meeting between the two parties”, according to media reports.

Vance’s audience with Leo lasted 45 minutes, the VP’s spokesperson said.

Before becoming pope, Leo reposted on his personal X account criticism of US President Donald Trump’s administration over its approach to migration and also pilloried Vance.

But Vance insisted Sunday that the United States was “very proud of him”, adding that “our prayers go with him as he starts this very important work”.

Vance converted to Catholicism in 2019 and Rubio is also a Catholic.

Vance and Gallagher also discussed “collaboration between Church and State… as well as some matters of special relevance to ecclesial life and religious freedom,” the Vatican said.

Leo, who was elected following the death of his predecessor Pope Francis last month, is tasked with tackling a series of pressing challenges facing the Catholic Church.

These include a bitter divide between supporters of Francis’s reforms and conservative opponents, particularly in the United States, as well as increasingly empty pews in the West.