Watch Marco Rubio gift Pope Leo a crystal football amid Vatican visit

Secretary of State Marco Rubio visited Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican on May 7, where he gifted the head of the Catholic Church a crystal football.

Rubio’s trip to Italy came as his boss, President Donald Trump, has been throwing broadsides at Leo, ripping him as “weak” on crime and nuclear weapons and accusing the first American-born pontiff of “endangering” Catholics with his opposition to the Iran war.

The secretary of state spent about two hours at the Vatican, where he spoke with the pontiff as well as the Vatican’s secretary of state, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, and Archbishop Paul Gallagher. 

In a news release following the meeting, State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott said it "underscored the strong relationship between the United States and the Holy See."

“Secretary of State Marco Rubio met today with His Holiness Pope Leo XIV to discuss the situation in the Middle East and topics of mutual interest in the Western Hemisphere,” he added.

Video of Leo's, Rubio's gift exchange goes viral

In the now-viral video, Leo and Rubio, accompanied by his wife Jeanette Dousdebes Rubio, exchange gifts, with the secretary of state offering the pope a crystal football.

“I know you’re a baseball guy, but I mean it has the seal of the State Department,” Rubio said. “What to get someone who has everything, I thought, ‘Oh, a crystal (football).'”

On the other hand, Leo offered Rubio a pen made of olive wood, in what many have interpreted as a peace offering.

“Olive, being of course the plant of peace,” Leo said as he pointed to the top of the olive wood pen. “This is the coat of arms of the pontificate here.”

Following the meeting, the Vatican also released a statement, saying the talks were “cordial” and included discussion on countries “affected by war, political tensions, and difficult humanitarian conditions, as well as on the need to work tirelessly in favor of peace.”

Social media users question Rubio's gift

When the video of Rubio giving Leo the crystal football began circulating, social media users took the opportunity to chime in, with many questioning the secretary of state's gift.

"Why in God’s name did Marco Rubio give the pope a crystal football?" one X user wrote.

Another user wrote, "this is really heartwarming. two men exchanging symbolic tokens of things the other has no interest in (football, peace)."

Some users empathized with Rubio, including one who said, "In all seriousness, what does one get the pope? Like, is there a dollar limit? Do we ask the cardinals what they got him?"

USA TODAY’s Franchesca Chambers contributed to this report.

Fernando Cervantes Jr. is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach him at [email protected] and follow him on X @fern_cerv_.