President Lee Jae Myung (center left, front) and Cardinal Lazarus You Heung-sik (center right, front) are seen on Sunday walking side by side to attend a special Mass in the Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls, which is owned by the Holy See and is located in Rome, Italy. (Yonhap) President Lee Jae Myung is to meet Pope Leo XIV on Monday, as his European trip hits its halfway point.On Sunday, Lee attended a special Mass for peace and solidarity the Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls in Rome. He delivered a speech there, highlighting South Korea’s commitment to global peace and Vatican City’s role in achieving peace on the Korean Peninsula.The next day, Lee was to hold talks with Pope Leo XIV for the first time since his inauguration in June 2025.The meeting at the governing authority of the Catholic Church comes as Leo is expected to visit South Korea in August 2027 to attend World Youth Day. The last global gathering of young Catholics for the event was held in Lisbon, Portugal, in 2023.Along with his activities involving the Vatican, Lee has been in Italy on a state visit since Wednesday night.Lee is the first South Korean president to make a state visit to the peninsular country in 26 years, following Kim Dae-jung's European trip in 2000.In Rome, Lee was received by Italian President Sergio Mattarella on Thursday. Lee and Mattarella announced the elevation of bilateral ties to a special strategic partnership. Mattarella also awarded Lee the Knight Grand Cross with Collar of the Order of Merit, Italy’s highest state decoration. President Lee Jae Myung (right) shakes hands with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni (left) during their meeting in Rome, Italy on Friday. (Pool photo via Yonhap) The next day, Lee held a meeting with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, marking their third meeting over the past year. The two countries announced the adoption of a five-year strategic action plan through 2030 to broaden bilateral cooperation in economy, science, culture, education and defense.In this vein, Lee and Meloni agreed to increase people-to-people exchanges between South Korea and Italy by 50 percent, to 1.5 million by 2034.The two countries also agreed to explore cooperation in advanced technology sectors, such as artificial intelligence and semiconductor chips, and to develop joint cooperation projects in Africa.Later Friday, the two countries held a business roundtable in Rome.South Korean business leaders, including Samsung Electronics Chair Lee Jae-yong, Hyosung Group Chair Cho Hyun-joon, Hyundai Motor President Sung Kim and Naver Chief Executive Officer Choi Soo-yeon, met Italian entrepreneurs, including Giorgio Marsiaj, vice president of the General Confederation of Italian Industry, and Ferrari Chief Executive Officer Benedetto Vigna. President Lee Jae Myung (left, front) and first lady Kim Hea Kyung (center, front) tour the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, Italy, Saturday. (Yonhap) Before going to the Vatican, Lee embarked on a side trip to Florence, the capital of Tuscany, on Saturday to hold talks with Eugenio Giani, president of the Tuscany region, as well as Florence Mayor Sara Funaro.Lee also visited the Uffizi Galleries in Florence on Saturday. On the occasion of his visit, South Korea’s National Museum of Korea and the Uffizi Galleries agreed to hold exhibitions at partner institutions to promote cross-cultural understanding.