Rome: US President Donald Trump will meet Pope Francis at the Vatican on May 24, senior sources said on Thursday. Trump will stop in Rome before going to Brussels for a NATO summit and to Sicily for a meeting of the Group of Seven rich countries.
In April, the White House raised the possibility of Mr Trump meeting Pope Francis during the US president's trip to Italy in late May, although it emphasised nothing had been scheduled.
"We will be reaching out to the Vatican to see if an audience with the pope can be accommodated," White House spokesman Sean Spicer said.
"We would be honoured to have an audience with his holiness."
When Trump was sworn in as president in January, Pope Francis offered his "good wishes" and said he hoped he would be granted "wisdom and strength in the exercise" of his office.
But he also implored the new president to continue to help those who suffer the most - "the poor, the outcast and those in need who, like Lazarus, stand before our door."
Reuters