The Vatican

The visit kicked off a series of day trips that Leo will be making over the next few weeks, up and down the Italian peninsula.

The audience comes at a fraught time between Washington and the Holy See, after weeks of presidential criticism from the first American pontiff.

The president accused the pope of "endangering a lot of Catholics and a lot of people" for criticizing the Iran war.

Leo also expressed frustration that U.S. and Iran have not been able to get diplomatic efforts to end the war back on track.

Vance, who is Catholic, said the pope was wrong in saying Jesus wasn’t on the side of those who wield the sword, pointing to the U.S. helping defeat the Nazis during World War II.

The first American pontiff vowed to keep up his appeals for peace, which he said were rooted in the gospel.

Leo ⁠is the first pope in nearly five centuries to visit ​the ⁠enclave, which has the highest concentration of billionaires in the world.

Clerics taking part in a conclave take a vow not to communicate with the outside world and surrender their phones and all other communication devices during proceedings.

The cleaning is expected to be completed by Easter, in the first week of April.

Pope Leo, the first U.S. pope and a critic of some of Trump’s policies, was invited to join the board in January.