Pope Leo on Monday received Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado at the Vatican, the Holy See said, without providing details of the meeting.
The Vatican listed Machado among those granted an audience by the US-born pontiff on Monday morning but did not immediately respond to requests for further information.
The meeting came as Italy’s Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani announced the release of two Italians, Alberto Trentini and Mario Burlo, who had been detained in Venezuela since November 2024 and are now returning home.
Machado, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in December, has been sidelined by Washington following the US intervention in Venezuela that led to the overthrow of President Nicolas Maduro.
US President Donald Trump said last week he would meet Machado, after earlier questioning her level of support within Venezuela.
Pope Leo, 70, had on Friday called for respect for Venezuela’s sovereignty and the will of its people, urging the protection of human and civil rights amid international tensions over the country’s political future.
The Vatican’s Secretary of State, Pietro Parolin, a former papal envoy to Venezuela, last week held talks with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on efforts to improve the humanitarian situation in the South American nation.
