This image released by Vatican Media shows Pope Leo XIV meeting with Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maria Corina Machado of Venezuela, right, inside his private library at the Vatican, Monday, January 12, 2026. VATICAN MEDIA / AP
Pope Leo received Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado at the Vatican on Monday, January 12, the Holy See said. There were no details about the audience, with the Vatican publishing Machado's name in a list of people received by the US pope Monday morning.
The papal audience came the same day as Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani announced that two Italians, Alberto Trentini and Mario Burlo, held since November 2024 in Venezuela, had been released and were on their way home.
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