Rubio meets with Pope Leo in Rome amid Vatican's tensions with Trump

Secretary of State Marco Rubio giving Pope Leo a football-shaped paperweight.

It's been a busy week for Secretary of State Marco Rubio who on Tuesday handled the White House press briefing, delivering a message about America that was met with widespread praise, and by Thursday had landed in Rome and met with Pope Leo at the Vatican.

The meeting between Rubio and the pope comes amid a bit of a feud between Leo, the first-ever American pope, and President Trump over differing views on the Iran war. Despite how it was characterized by much of the mainstream media, the feud was initiated by Pope Leo who began making subtle criticisms of the U.S. war with Iran. Trump then fired back, but also tempered some of his tougher rhetoric by saying the pope has a right to his opinions and "I have a right to disagree." Trump downplayed the feud in mid-April, saying the two were "not fighting."

But Leo continued with more criticism and then during an interview earlier this week, Trump said, “I think he’s endangering a lot of Catholics and a lot of people. But ​I guess if it’s up to the pope, he thinks it’s just fine for Iran to have a nuclear weapon.”

The meeting between Rubio, a practicing Catholic, and Pope Leo, reportedly lasted for more than two hours on Thursday, and all signs indicate it was amicable. Video showed the two shaking hands and exchanging pleasantries as well as gifts -- a crystal paperweight shaped like a football from the White House, a pen made of olive wood from the Vatican -- and holding discussions at the pope's desk.

"The conversations today were friendly and constructive," a State Department official told Fox News. A spokesperson for the State Department told The Associated Press, "The meeting underscored the strong relationship between the United States and the Holy See and their shared commitment to promoting peace and human dignity."

The Vatican said the meeting demonstrated the "shared commitment to fostering good bilateral relations between the Holy See and the United States of America was reaffirmed." The Vatican added that the discussions gave "particular attention to countries marked by war, political tensions, and difficult humanitarian situations, as well as to the need to work tirelessly in support of peace."

Rubio also met with Cardinal Pietro Parolin during his visit to the Vatican, and has meetings on Friday with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani. Below, watch a video showing the meeting between Rubio and Pope Leo.