Blinken saw Francis before the pope held his weekly audience in St. Peter's Square, and later met the Vatican's second-in-command, Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin, and the Vatican's foreign minister, Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher.

The outgoing secretary of state met the pope privately early Nov. 27 and "commended the Pope's commitment to advancing the basic rights and dignity of LGBTQI persons," said a statement by Matthew Miller, the State Department spokesperson. Blinken was in Italy for a meeting of G7 foreign ministers.

Key agenda items included the recently announced Israel-Lebanon ceasefire and efforts to address the humanitarian impacts of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The U.S. Secretary of State met with Pope Francis on Wednesday morning to talk about the Mideast and Ukraine among other geopolitical issues.