White House / Emily J. Higgins
VATICAN CITY // US Vice President JD Vance will lead a US delegation attending the inaugural Mass of Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican this Sunday, May 18.
The Office of the Vice President announced May 15 that Vance, who is a Catholic convert, and Second Lady Usha Vance, along with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and his wife, Jeanette Rubio, who are both Catholic, will be in attendance.
The inaugural Mass, which falls on the birthday of St. Pope John Paul II, is set to draw political leaders from around the world and tens of thousands of faithful. In April, the funeral Mass of Pope Francis was attended similarly; President Donald Trump, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine, and Prime Minister Viktor Orban of Hungary were among the many officials present.
Argentinian President Javier Milei, who attended Pope Francis’ funeral, was initially going to attend Pope Leo’s inaugural Mass but canceled his plans this week because he will attend the May 18 Buenos Aires elections, according to ElEditor Platense, to support his gubernatorial candidate. Argentinian Chancellor Gerardo Werthein and Minister of Human Capital Sandra Pettovello will attend the May 18 Mass instead.
Zelenskyy intends to attend Pope Leo’s inaugural Mass but might not be able to, depending on upcoming meetings this week in Turkey about potential peace talks, Andriy Yermak, head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, told Reuters, according to Euromaidan Press. Yermak also said, “Of course during war it’s difficult to be sure, but I know that he will be happy to be in Rome on this day.”
The following other officials plan to attend, according to various media reports:
– Canada’s prime minister, Mark Carney
– Prince Edward, the Duke of Edinburgh, Scotland,
– Israel’s president, Isaac Herzog
– the Netherlands’ Queen Máxima and Prime Minister Dick Schoof
– Australia’s prime minister, Anthony Albanese, a Catholic
– Chen Chien-jen, the former Vice President of the Republic of China
– Georgia’s president, Mikheil Kavelashvili
Prince Edward is representing the United Kingdom’s King Charles III, and Chen is attending as special envoy of President Lai Ching-te.