Brian Burch’s residence in Rome hosted Pope Leo on Saturday evening after the U.S. ambassador to the Holy See invited him for the Fourth of July holiday.
A Vatican letter published earlier that day said the Chicago-born pope was praying for the American people on the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.
Philadelphia ceremonies on Friday also featured Leo accepting the Liberty Medal by video from the Vatican, where he urged renewed commitment to life, freedom, unity, justice and peace.
The U.S.-focused appearances came after Leo spent the first half of Saturday in Lampedusa on a pastoral visit underscoring closeness to migrants.