LONDON

Pope Leo XIV and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni discussed the humanitarian situation in Gaza and the Russia-Ukraine war during their first official meeting Wednesday.

The pontiff received Meloni in private audience in the Apostolic Palace, Vatican News reported.

The meeting came after Meloni had just returned to Rome from the recent NATO Summit in The Hague.

Meloni also met with Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s secretary of state, who was accompanied by Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, the Secretary for Relations with States and International Organizations, according to a statement released by the Vatican.

"During the cordial talks held at the Secretariat of State, the good existing relations between the Holy See and Italy were highlighted, and the joint commitment to peace in Ukraine and the Middle East and humanitarian aid in Gaza were evoked,” said the statement.

The conversation continued with a discussion on a number of questions pertaining to bilateral relations as well as topics of interest for the Church and Italian society, the report added.