President Trump arrived in Rome on Tuesday ahead of his first-ever meeting with Pope Francis, with whom he memorably sparred during the 2016 presidential campaign.
Air Force One landed at Fiumicino Leonardo da Vinci International Airport at about 6:15 p.m. local time on Tuesday. On Wednesday morning, Trump is expected to meet with Pope Francis at the Vatican and tour the Sistine Chapel.
Trump is on the third leg of his foreign trip, following visits, meetings and speeches in Saudi Arabia and Israel over the last several days.
Wednesday’s meeting follows contentious exchanges between the two during the 2016 presidential campaign after the pope criticized then-candidate Trump’s immigration policies and advocacy for building a wall on the U.S.-Mexican border.
“A person who thinks only about building walls, wherever they may be, and not of building bridges, is not Christian,” Francis said in February of last year when a reporter asked him about Trump. “This is not the gospel.”
Trump responded to the pope in a scathing statement.
“For a religious leader to question a person’s faith is disgraceful,” Trump said.
Trump argued that the pope hadn’t considered his argument on immigration.
“The pope only heard one side of the story — he didn’t see the crime, the drug trafficking and the negative economic impact the current policies have on the United States,” Trump said at the time.
During his visit in Italy, Trump is also expected to hold meetings with Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni and Italian President Sergio Mattarella.
The president is scheduled to continue his foreign trip by flying to Brussels for meetings with European officials later Wednesday.
