VATICAN CITY: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy will attend the inaugural Mass of newly elected Pope Leo on Sunday, along with many other world leaders, the Vatican said.
The Mass in St. Peter’s Square will formally install Pope Leo, who was born in Chicago but lived for many years in Peru, as the leader of the world’s 1.4 billion Roman Catholics.
U.S. Vice President JD Vance, who clashed fiercely with Zelenskiy in the White House in February, will lead the U.S. delegation, which also includes Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Zelenskiy would be happy to meet other leaders on the sidelines of the inauguration, a top aide told Reuters this week. When he went to the Vatican for the funeral of Pope Francis on April 26, Zelenskiy held face-to-face talks with U.S. President Donald Trump in St. Peter’s Basilica.
Rubio said he would discuss on Saturday efforts to end Russia’s war in Ukraine with Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, who served as the late Pope Francis’ envoy for the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
In remarks to reporters ahead of the meeting, the top U.S. diplomat suggested the Vatican could be a venue to facilitate dialogue.
“I wouldn’t call it a broker, but it certainly is a place that I would think that both sides would be comfortable coming,“ Rubio told reporters.
Among other leaders expected on Sunday are the presidents of Israel, Peru and Nigeria, the prime ministers of Italy, Canada and Australia, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and European Commission President Ursula Von der Layen.
Many European royals will also be present, including Spain’s King Felipe and Queen Letizia.
Russia will be represented by Culture Minister Olga Lyubimova, the Vatican said.
