Pope Leo XIV speaks during the weekly general audience at Paul VI Hall in the Vatican. (January 14, 2026)

Pope invited to Trump's “Board of Peace,” Vatican says

Listen to this story:

0:00

Note: AI technology was used to generate this article’s audio.

Published :

2 hours ago|

Last Updated :

1 hour ago|

World

Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s Secretary of State, confirmed on Wednesday that Pope Leo XIV has received an invitation to join President Trump’s "Board of Peace," though he noted the decision requires careful "research" and time before a formal response is given.
The invitation places the Holy See at the center of a controversial new international body where permanent membership carries a $1 billion price tag, and where Chairman Donald Trump maintains "exclusive authority" over all peace-building resolutions and subsidiary entities.

Pope Leo XIV has been invited to join US President Donald Trump's "Board of Peace", the Vatican's secretary of state said Wednesday, as reported by local news agencies.

"We've also received this invitation and the pope received it and we are looking at what to do. We are researching and I believe it's a question that demands a little time to be considered in order to give a response," the Vatican's number two, Pietro Parolin, told journalists at an event in Rome.

What is the “Board of Peace”

US President Donald Trump's government has asked countries to pay $1 billion for a permanent spot on his "Board of Peace" aimed at resolving conflicts, according to its charter.

The board was originally conceived to oversee the rebuilding of Gaza, but the charter does not appear to limit its role to the occupied Palestinian territory.

What will it do?

The Board of Peace will be chaired by Trump, according to its founding charter.

It is "an international organization that seeks to promote stability, restore dependable and lawful governance, and secure enduring peace in areas affected or threatened by conflict", reads the preamble of the charter sent to countries invited to participate.

It will "undertake such peace-building functions in accordance with international law", it adds.

Who will run it?

Trump will be chairman but also "separately serve as inaugural representative" of the United States.

"The chairman shall have exclusive authority to create, modify, or dissolve subsidiary entities as necessary or appropriate to fulfil the Board of Peace's mission," the document states.

He will pick members of an executive board to be "leaders of global stature" to "serve two-year terms, subject to removal by the chairman".

He may also, "acting on behalf of the Board of Peace", "adopt resolutions or other directives".

The chairman can be replaced only in case of "voluntary resignation or as a result of incapacity".

Who can be a member?

Member states must be invited by the US president, and will be represented by their head of state or government.

Each member "shall serve a term of no more than three years", the charter says.

But "the three-year membership term shall not apply to member states that contribute more than USD $1,000,000,000 in cash funds to the Board of Peace within the first year of the charter's entry into force", it adds.

The board will "convene voting meetings at least annually", and "each member state shall have one vote".

But while all decisions require "a majority of member states present and voting", they will also be "subject to the approval of the chairman, who may also cast a vote in his capacity as chairman in the event of a tie".

Who's on the executive board?

The executive board will "operationalise" the organisation's mission, according to the White House, which said it would be chaired by Trump and include seven members: