Rome - Pope Leo XIV and Vice President JD Vance held a series of U.S.-led diplomatic efforts in the Vatican on Monday aimed at making progress in Russia’s ceasefire in the Ukrainian war. Catholic convert Vance leads the U.S. delegation to Formal mass opening The first American pope. Luke Schroeder, a Vance spokesman, said Monday's Secretary of State Marco Rubio, also a Catholic, said.

According to a statement after the Vatican meeting, “There were exchanges on some of the current international issues and called for respect for humanitarian and international law in the field of conflict.”

And the customary gift exchange, Vance shows off the Chicago-born Pope Bears jersey. The Pope is also a fan of white socks. Brother confirm Earlier this month.

The Vatican listed Vance's delegation as the first of several private audiences, Leo on Monday with those who came to Rome to attend the inaugural Mass, including other Christian leaders and a group of believers in his old parish in Chiclayo, Peru.

The Vatican, which has been phased out for most of the first three years of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, proposed to hold any peace talks while continuing humanitarian efforts to promote prisoner swaps and reunion of Ukrainian children in Russia.

After briefly greeting Leo at the end of Sunday's Mass, Vance spent the rest of the day at different meetings With Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. He will also meet with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who said she hopes the trial session could be a "new beginning."

Meloni spoke with President Trump on Monday with phone conversations with President Trump and several other European leaders ahead of an expected call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, a statement from the Meloni office said.

Former Cardinal Robert Prevost Leo is a Chicago-born Augustine missionary who spent most of his ministry in commercial cities on the North Pacific coast of Peru.

In the days since the May 8 election, Leo vowed to "every effort" to help bring peace to Ukraine. He also emphasized his continuity with Pope Francis, who made immigration and the poor his priority.

Prior to election, Prevost shared news articles on X that criticized Trump administration’s plans Mass deportation migrant.

Vance was one of the last foreign officials to meet with Francis before the Pope of Argentina died on April 21. The two were entangled with immigration, and Francis publicly criticized the Trump administration's deportation plan and corrected Vance's theological reasons for this.