The debate entitled ‘The foreign policy of Pope Leo XIV’ was held at Palazzo Borromeo, the seat of the Embassy of Italy to the Holy See, on 16 September.
The event opened with an official welcome address by Ambassador Francesco Di Nitto and featured presentations by Massimo Faggioli, full professor in the Department of Theology and Religious Studies at Villanova University (Philadelphia) and most recently the author of the books ‘Leo XIV and the Global Church’ and ‘Da Dio a Trump’ (From God to Trump) (published by Morcelliana and Scholé), Don Roberto Regoli, full professor at the Faculty of Church History and Cultural Heritage of the Pontifical Gregorian University, as well as President of the Joseph Ratzinger – Benedict XVI Vatican Foundation, and by Agostino Giovagnoli, emeritus professor of Contemporary History at the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore and, most recently, co-author of the book ‘La Chiesa e la sfida della pace: da Leone XIII a Leone XIV’ (published by Guerini, due out on 23 October 2026).
Among the main topics covered: relations between the Holy See and the US, Europe and the global Church, dialogue with the People’s Republic of China, and apostolic journeys already undertaken and those planned.
The event, attended by numerous Italian and Vatican figures, as well as members of the diplomatic corps from abroad, was chaired by journalist Lucia Capuzzi, a correspondent for the foreign affairs section at the daily newspaper Avvenire.
