In May 2025, U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance attended the inaugural Mass of the newly installed pontiff Pope Leo XIV.

After the Mass, the Vice President met the Holy Father for a 45-minute private chat, after which the Vice President also met with Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, Secretary for Relations with States and International Organisations.

The ‘cordial talks’, which also included U.S Secretary of State Marco Rubio, covered a range of issues of the time – most pressingly at the time the ongoing wars in Europe, Central Asia, and the Middle East. 

According to Vatican officials, all parties shared ‘an exchange of views on some current international issues, during which hope was expressed that humanitarian law and international law be respected in areas of conflict and that there be a negotiated solution between the parties involved’ (you can read the Vatican’s coverage of the talks here).

Afterwards, both Leo and Vance offered differing perspectives on the theology of conflict; however, the opinions of the Holy See and the White House in relation to war fall outside the remit of this article.

What’s worth noting is that Leo, Gallagher, and their predecessor Pope Francis took their agendas right to the face of power with a directness not conventionally seen in the global West.

Vance meets with Pope Leo XIV in Rome in 2025

In doing so, they echoed a long tradition of Christians who were not only sought out for their advice by rulers, but who at times actively chastised the powers of the day for not worthily conducting themselves.

Hildegard of Bingen (1098-1179) is one of the best examples of this.

The German poet, mystic, writer, preacher, and composer (among other things) was also a political mover and shaker.

She was in constant correspondence with some of the most powerful rulers of her day, including Queen of both England and France, Eleanor of Aquitaine, and Holy Roman Emperor Frederick Barbarossa.

‘I think it’s very important to see her as a religious reformer with an agenda in her writings, letters, and her compositions’, said Hildegard expert Margot Fassler, speaking on Undeceptions. 

‘She lives (thinking about) this clash between good and evil, and she thinks that learning to praise God with the right heart, and a full voice, is a crucial part of every Christian’s life.’

A good example of her willingness to speak truth (as she saw it) to power is the warning letter Hildegard sent to English King Henry II after he fell out with the then Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Becket. 

Hildegard urged the king against deviating from justice for his own means;

When a certain man holds a high office over other men, the Lord commands him:

“Yours are the gifts of giving; it is by ruling and defending, protecting and providing, that you may reach Heaven.”

But then a bird, black as pitch, will come to you from the North, and it will say:

“You can do whatever you want; so do this and do that; make this excuse and that excuse, for it does not profit you to have regard to Justice; for if you always consult Justice, you are not the master, rather you are reduced to mere slavery.”

It is imperative that you not listen to the Thief who so counsels you…

Dear Son of God, you must flee this environment and call on your Father with all your might, as He gladly reaches out His hand to help you.

Henry II of England – presumably after he had just read one of Hildegard’s scathing letters

Another example is the letter she wrote to Emperor Barbarossa in which she told him that she was having premonitions of him brought to the lowly place of a child before the Lord.

“O king, it is imperative for you to have foresight in all your affairs. For in a mystic vision I see you like a little boy or some madman living before Living Eyes.”

Over 400 letters of Hildegard survive today – and a huge bulk of them were written to people in positions of influence.

With the help of her monk scribe and confidant, Volmar, she corresponded with nobility, royalty, and church officials, often asking for her spiritual advice. 

‘A letter was an event. It was hugely expensive to produce, often on parchment or vellum—different grades of prepared animal skin’, John Dickson said.

‘When you received a letter from Hildegard, you knew to take it seriously.

‘Here is a medieval woman consulting with men in high office, unafraid to scold and admonish and call them back to a more simple version of Christianity.’

Hildegard is celebrated today as a Doctor of the Church – a prestigious title that’s been awarded to only 38 people throughout history. She is rightfully upheld as one of Medieval Europe’s greatest thinkers and writers.

But her willingness to engage with the geopolitics of the 12th century is sometimes lost on us today; for Hildegard, her life wasn’t merely about preaching, writing, and composing: it was about advocating for a world in which the rulers would follow the example of the one true King, Jesus Christ.

Adapted by Alasdair Belling from Undeceptions episode 180, ‘On Hildegard‘. You can listen to the full episode here.

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