Taoiseach Micheál Martin has arrived in the Vatican ahead of talks with Pope Leo XIV.
Mr Martin arrived at the Vatican, where he and his wife Mary were greeted by the Prefect of the Papal Household Monsignor Petar Rajic. He is expected to have a private meeting with with the Pope for around 30 to 40 minutes at the Papal Library in the Apostolic Palace.
The Taoiseach is then expected to meet the Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin for a meeting which is expected to last for an hour, where they are set to talk about the Middle East, including the attacks against Christians in the West Bank and Jerusalem.
Following his visits to the Vatican, Micheál Martin is also set to visit the Pontifical Irish College in Rome, where he will speak with members of the college community and look at the archives.
He is also expected to meet with Italian Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni.
Mr Martin is also set to outline Ireland's priorities in the upcoming Presidency of the EU, which begins on July 1.
News of this comes as the Taoieach recently slammed the Israeli authorities over the way they have treated the activists on board an aid flotilla to Gaza. More on this here.
Pope Leo has certainly not been afraid to share his views on current issues, including the US' ongoing war on Iran.
Back in April, US President Donald Trump called out the Pope, and his growing criticism of the war, saying the pope was "weak on crime, and terrible for foreign policy".
However, in response, Pope Leo stated that he has "no fear" of Mr Trump or his administration.
"I have no fear of neither the Trump administration nor speaking out loudly about the message of the Gospel", he said. "We're not politicians. We're not looking to make foreign policy, as he [Trump] calls it, with the same perspective that he might understand it".
