One of the fiercest political feuds in Europe may be on its way to ending, as Italian Interior Minister Matteo Salvini told Newsmax on Monday he would meet with Pope Francis if and when the Holy Father extended an invitation.
In the weeks leading up to the recent elections for the European parliament — in which Salvini’s Lega (League) Party topped the field for seats from Italy — the Pope had made it clear he would not meet Salvini because of the latter’s enforcement of hardline measures to reduce the flow of immigrants from the Middle East to Italy.
But the man considered Italy’s most popular politician signaled he was willing to break the ice with the head of the Roman Catholic Church.
“[I]f the occasion arises, I will honor it,” Salvini told us during a news conference at the Italian Ambassador’s Residence during his recent visit to Washington, DC.
Salvini, 46, and a practicing Catholic, denied reports in the Italian publications Il Giorno and Il Mio Giornale that he had attempted to secure a papal audience and had been told by the Vatican “a meeting could not occur if [Salvini] continues in his tough position regarding immigrants.”
Salvini insisted he "never requested a formal meeting [with the Pope].”
However, the politician considered the strongest figure in Italy’s coalition government made little secret of his hope that the Vatican will now call on him.
“I’ve got my rosary in pocket,” said Salvini, referring to the beads with which Catholics say their prayers.
John Gizzi is chief political columnist and White House correspondent for Newsmax. For more of his reports, Go Here Now.
© 2026 Newsmax. All rights reserved.