U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is expected to travel to Italy this week to meet with Pope Leo, a Vatican source said on Sunday, as President Donald Trump's attacks against the Catholic pontiff have drawn criticism across the political spectrum.

The meeting, the first known in-person encounter between Leo and a U.S. cabinet official in nearly a year, is expected to take place on Thursday, said a senior source familiar with the pope's plans, who asked not to be named as they were not authorised to speak on the matter.

The pope, who has taken on a forceful new speaking style, emerged in recent weeks as an outspoken critic of the U.S.-Israeli led war with Iran, after previously criticising the Trump administration's hard-line anti-immigration policies.

Trump sharply criticised Leo on social media several times in April, at one point calling the pontiff "terrible", in attacks that drew wide attention while Leo was on a four-nation Africa tour.

Rubio last met Leo, the first U.S. pope, in May 2025, alongside Vice President JD Vance. The two U.S. officials attended the new pope's inaugural Mass in St. Peter's Square and had a private meeting with him the next day.

Leo marks his first year as pope on Friday.

Italian national dailies La Repubblica and Corriere della Sera had previously reported on Sunday that Rubio would come to Italy this week for meetings, including one with the Vatican's lead diplomatic official, Pietro Parolin, but did not say whether he would meet with Leo.

The U.S. State Department, Vatican press office and an Italian government spokesperson did not immediately respond to questions about the reports.

Rubio is also expected to hold talks with Italy's foreign and defence ministers, the Italian papers reported, adding that the trip is aimed at easing tensions between the two countries after Trump's blunt criticism of Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni - one of his closest European allies - last month.

It remained uncertain if Rubio will also meet Meloni.

The trip comes days after the Pentagon announced the drawdown of 5,000 U.S. troops from Germany, its largest European base, on Friday, as a rift over the Iran war and tariff tensions placed further strain on relations between the U.S. and Europe.

Italy is among the European countries with the biggest presence of U.S. troops, with almost 13,000 active-duty soldiers at the end of 2025, across six bases.

-Reporting by Joshua McElwee and Giulia Segreti; Editing by Lincoln Feast and Joe Bavier/Reuters