French PresidentEmmanuel Macronarrived Friday at theVaticanfor his first meeting withPope Leo XIV, a private audience expected to be dominated by theIran war.
The French leader, who arrived with his wife Brigitte after flying to Rome on Thursday, met the US pontiff and the Vatican's secretary of state, Pietro Parolin.
The crisis in the Middle East dominated the meeting between Macron and the leader of the world's 1.4 billion Catholics. The French leader has beenparticularly focused onLebanon, where deadly Israeli strikes threatened this week's temporary truce between the US and Iran.
Leo XIV visited Lebanon late last year as part of his first trip abroad, which also included Turkey, and has repeatedly prayed for the victims of conflict there.
Read morePope Leo urges Lebanese to embrace reconciliation on visit to crisis-hit country
Macron has also made numerous appeals for Lebanon to be included in the ceasefire.
He discussed the conflict on Thursday evening with representatives of the Catholic community of Sant'Egidio, an informal diplomatic channel of the Holy See that is very active on Middle Eastern and humanitarian issues.
"Macron is a man of peace," and "can do a lot" to "support" the Lebanese authorities, the community's founder, Andrea Riccardi, told reporters, adding that Lebanon "must not be left alone".
In recent days, both Macron and the Chicago-born pontiff have spoken out against US PresidentDonald Trumpover the war, which began with Israel-US attacks on Iran.
Leo condemned as "unacceptable" threats to civilian targets -- while not citing Trump by name -- while Macron said there was "too much talk, and it's all over the place".
Both welcomed the truce and have urged a diplomatic solution to the war, which has expanded across theMiddle Eastand roiled the global economy.
Read morePope Leo condemns violence of war in first Easter Mass amid Iran conflict
The US government on Thursday denied a report that the Vatican's US envoy was summoned in January for a "bitter" dressing down over a speech by the pope condemning "diplomacy based on force", in remarks widely viewed as aimed at the Trump administration.
Macron is not a practising Catholic but had a good relationship with Leo's predecessor,Pope Francis, meeting him three times and discussing with him both global crises and spirituality.
Their relationship also had its tensions, with the late Argentine criticising the inclusion of abortion in the French constitution, and Macron's proposal to introduce assisted dying in France.
The president is expected to invite Leo, a more reserved character than his predecessor, to visit France soon.
Francis never made a state visit to France and declined to attend the opening of the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris in 2024, five years after its devastation by fire.
Friday's meeting at the Vatican comes three days before the pope's visit to the former French colony of Algeria, the first ever by a pontiff.
Watch moreIn Algeria, Saint Augustine's city anticipates Pope Leo's visit
Visit to France?
Macron's delegation includes the former president of a commission over churchsex abusein France. The commission was never officially received byPope Francis, despite its 2021 report exposing systemic scale of abuse within the institution.
Amid current debate in France, the issue of assisted dying andeuthanasiacould also be raised in the meeting between Macron and Leo.
The Vatican regardseuthanasiaas a "crime against human life" and assisted dying as a "grave sin", with those resorting to such measures barred from receiving the sacraments.
A diplomatic source said that Macron is expected to formally invite the pope to France.
Despite having visited France on three occasions to Strasbourg,MarseilleandCorsica's Ajaccio Francis never made a state visit to the country, and declined to attend the reopening ofNotre-Dame Cathedralin Paris in 2024.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP)
Originally published on France24
