Speculation in the Italian media yesterday suggested that the Pope could meet President Barack Obama as early as next month.

The reports said Obama could call in on the Pope during his first visit to Europe for the G20 summit in London in April. The possibility was raised after Jesuit Father Thomas Reese said in an interview on Italian television that the Pope and Obama could meet soon.

In response, Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi said the administration had made “no official request” for a meeting with the Pope, but added that such an encounter was “possible.”

But the most likely time for a meeting is July, not April, when Obama will attend the G8 summit on the Italian island of Maddalena. But even then, such an encounter is far from certain as the Obama administration has yet to name an ambassador to the Holy See.

Unless a candidate is put forward by the end of this month or early April, it’s unlikely he or she will be in their post in time to arrange a July visit due to the nomination and vetting process. That would make any encounter not impossible, but unlikely.

— Edward Pentin