The pope and the president have been at odds over immigration and US military actions
By Brie Stimson Fox News
Published March 7, 2026 4:58pm EST
People Leo XIV on Saturday announced the appointment of the Vatican’s new ambassador, Apostolic Nuncio, to the U.S. to help manage strained relations with the Trump administration.
Italian Archbishop Gabriele Caccia, 68, a veteran Vatican diplomat who is currently ambassador to the United Nations, previously served as ambassador to the Philippines and Lebanon.
Caccia is replacing 80-year-old Cardinal Christophe Pierre, who is retiring.
"I receive this mission with both joy and a sense of trepidation," Caccia said after the appointment, according to the Vatican News. He added that his mission was "at the service of communion and peace," remembering that 2026 marks the 250th anniversary of the U.S.
The pope and President Donald Trump have been at odds over key issues for the White House, including immigration and the war in Iran.
Pierre's ambassadorship was also at times at odds with the more conservative U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops while representing Pope Francis’ more progressive priorities.
"Stability and peace are not built with mutual threats, nor with weapons, which sow destruction, pain and death, but only through a reasonable, authentic and responsible dialogue," the American-born pope said Sunday after the U.S. and Israel launched coordinated strikes on Iran, according to the outlet Chicago Catholic.
"Faced with the possibility of a tragedy of enormous proportions, I address to the parties involved a heartfelt appeal to assume the moral responsibility to stop the spiral of violence before it becomes an irreparable abyss."
In early January, Leo also delivered a major policy speech, mostly in English, after the U.S. military action in Venezuela.
Archbishop Gabriele Caccia has been appointed by the pope as the new Vatican ambassador to the U.S. (Lev Radin/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images)
