J069-VATICANO VISITA DE MARCO RUBIO AL PAPA

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Pope Leo at the Vatican on Thursday (May 7), at a time of increasing tension following President Donald Trump's repeated attacks on the Catholic leader over the Iran war.

Rubio's meeting with Leo was a sign of a "strong" relationship between the Vatican and the U.S., said State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott. The Vatican did not immediately give any comment about the meeting.

Rubio, who also serves as Trump's national security adviser, spent 2-1/2 hours at the Vatican before driving away in a convoy under tight security.

The meeting with Leo, the first between the pope and a Trump cabinet official in nearly a year, appeared to have run longer than planned.

Vatican video showed Rubio giving the pope a small crystal football. Leo in return gave the U.S. Secretary of State a small pen made from wood from an olive tree, which he called "the plant of peace".

Rubio also met with senior Vatican officials, including top diplomat Italian Cardinal Pietro Parolin.

Leo, the first U.S. pope, drew Trump's ire after becoming a firm critic of the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran and the Trump administration's hardline anti-immigration policies.

The president has kept up an unprecedented series of public attacks on the pope in recent weeks, drawing a backlash from Christian leaders across the political spectrum.