- The first Christian service on our soil was a Catholic mass.
- The oldest permanent settlement in the United States is the town of St. Augustine.
- Catholic Saints were martyred on American soil well over a century before the revolution began.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has disclosed that America is historically Catholic, underscoring that “we should put out into the deep.”
Speaking during a virtual address at the Symposium, “Endowed by their creator: Catholicism, the Declaration of Independence, and the American experiment at 250, Rubio maintained that “The Catholic faith has always been part of the American story. The first Christian service on our soil was a Catholic mass.”
“Catholic explorers, soldiers, priests, and pioneers consecrated this new world.”
Citing concrete examples of places that were named Catholic, he insisted that the phenomenon was not a coincidence.
“The oldest permanent settlement in the United States is the town of St. Augustine, planted by Spanish Catholics on the coastal sands of my home state of Florida. Catholic saints were martyred on American soil well over a century before the revolution began.
Credit: Department of State, United States of America.
“In missions and settlements, wilderness forts and trading posts stretching from the first colonies to the distant frontier, Catholic explorers, soldiers, priests, and pioneers consecrated this new world to their ancient faith and Christianized its land with Catholic names.”
“Maryland, St. Louis, San Francisco, Santa Fe, and almost every region of what is now the United States were first explored and mapped by Catholics,” he stressed.
Faith, Family, Political Career
Although there are reports that he practised Mormonism between the ages of 8 and 11 when he lived in Las Vegas, Rubio eventually returned to the Catholic Church, citing a “hunger” for the Sacrament of Holy Communion.
A practicing Roman Catholic, Rubio stated that he is “fully, theologically, and doctrinally aligned with the Roman Catholic Church.”
The U.S. Senator who represented Florida from 2011 to 2025 earned degrees from the University of Florida and the University of Miami School of Law and is happily married to Jeanette Dousdebes and blessed with four children.
The 72nd United States Secretary of State, who also serves as the acting National Security Advisor, was a prominent figure in the Republican Party before joining the Trump administration.
He ran for the Republican nomination as a 2016 Presidential Candidate, but dropped out after losing the Florida primary.
Following a well-received appearance in the White House briefing room in May 2026—where he stood in for Karoline Leavitt, it is being speculated that Rubio may be a frontrunner for the 2028 presidential election.
Talks with Pope Leo and Italian Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni
As of May 8, 2026, Rubio is in Rome for high-stakes meetings, which commentators posit are aimed at repairing strained international relations.
He met with Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican on May 7 to “thaw” relations following a public feud between the Pope and President Trump regarding the war in Iran.
During the meeting, he discussed global peace and humanitarian aid and notably gifted the Pope a crystal football.
Rubio is also scheduled to meet with the Italian Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, to discuss regional security and the ongoing conflict in Iran.
The Secretary of State recently announced that the offensive stage of “Operation Epic Fury” in Iran has concluded.
On May 8, he disclosed that the U.S. is currently awaiting a response from Iran regarding a proposed peace deal.
