Pope Leo XIV declines invite to join Trump's Board of Peace

By Ryan Foley, Christian Post Reporter Wednesday, February 18, 2026

Pope Leo XIV has declined President Donald Trump’s invitation to join the newly established Board of Peace, citing a commitment to the United Nations as the international peacekeeping body. 

While speaking to reporters Tuesday, Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin announced that the Vatican “will not participate in the Board of Peace because of its particular nature, which is evidently not that of other States.” Parolin elaborated on the Vatican’s concerns about the Board of Peace.

“There are points that leave us somewhat perplexed," Parolin said. "There are some critical points that would need to find explanations.”

“At the international level, it should above all be the UN that manages these crisis situations,” he said. “This is one of the points on which we have insisted.”

The Vatican is one of several sovereign states worldwide that have declined Trump’s invitation to join the Board of Peace. Others include Denmark, France, Norway, Slovenia and Sweden. As explained on the Board of Peace’s official website, a total of 62 nations have been invited to join the international body. 

The Board of Peace was officially unveiled last month at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland. Part of Trump’s peace deal to end the Israel-Hamas conflict, the U.N. Security Council approved the creation of the Board of Peace in Resolution 2803, envisioning the body as “a transitional administration with international legal personality that will set the framework, and coordinate funding for, the redevelopment of Gaza pursuant to the” peace plan. 

The war in the Gaza Strip began after Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, terror attack on civilians and military targets in southern Israel, which prompted an Israeli military offensive to eradicate Hamas and secure the release of hostages. 

The charter of the Board of Peace says it seeks to "promote stability, restore dependable and lawful governance, and secure enduring peace in areas affected or threatened by conflict.” 

Trump serves as chair of the Board of Peace and appointed its Executive Board, which consists of Secretary of State Marco Rubio, U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff, Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, former U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair, Apollo Global Management CEO Marc Rowan, World Bank President Ajay Banga and U.S. Deputy National Security Advisor Robert Gabriel Jr. 

The Executive Board is tasked with overseeing a “defined portfolio critical to Gaza’s stabilization and long-term success, including, but not limited to, governance capacity-building, regional relations, reconstruction, investment attraction, large-scale funding, and capital mobilization.” 

Member states that have accepted Trump’s invitation to join the body and signed the charter at last month’s signing ceremony, include Argentina, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Hungary, Indonesia, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Mongolia, Pakistan, Paraguay, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates and Uzbekistan. Additional countries that are part of the Board of Peace but did not participate in the signing ceremony include Albania, Bahrain, Belarus, Egypt, Israel, Kuwait, Morocco and Vietnam. 

The U.N.’s authorization of the Board of Peace lasts through Dec. 31, 2027. At that time, the U.N. Security Council will decide whether or not to extend it. The charter for the Board of Peace states that the international body “shall dissolve at such time as the Chairman considers necessary or appropriate, or at the end of every odd-numbered calendar year, unless renewed by the Chairman no later than November 21 of such odd-numbered calendar year.”