Pope Leo IV received Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado at the Vatican today.

The Holy See released photos of the hearing, but not details of the discussions. The Vatican has published Machado’s name on a list of people the pope has accepted.

The hearing took place on the same day that Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani announced that two Italians, Alberto Trentini and Mario Burlo, who had been held in Venezuela since November 2024, had been released and were returning home.

Machado, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2025, has been sidelined by Washington after the U.S. intervention in Venezuela that toppled President Nicolas Maduro.

U.S. President Donald Trump said Thursday that he will meet with Machado this week.