Exclusive: Pope Leo XIV holds private meeting with world’s largest mining and energy leaders in the Vatican

Pope Leo XIV convened the Chairmen and Chief Executives from the world’s largest mining and energy industries at the Vatican in an intimate meeting aimed at creating a path toward ethical mining. The event reinforced the Catholic Church’s long‑standing engagement with business to drive ethical and sustainable transition - specifically in the extractive sector amid rising demand for critical minerals and persistent concerns over ethical supply chains.

With 1.4 billion followers worldwide and deep institutional presence in remote and resource‑rich regions, the Catholic Church occupies a uniquely influential position in communities most affected by mining, energy, and infrastructure projects.

The private audience brought together the leaders of BHP (Mike Henry, CEO), Corporación América (Hugo Eurnekian, CEO), Glencore (Gary Nagle, CEO), Hochschild Mining (Eduardo Hochschild Beeck, CEO), Integra Capital (José Luis Manzano, President), Ivanhoe Mines (Robert Friedland, Chairman), Lítica Resources (Francisco Pulit, CEO), Lundin Mining Corporation (Jack Lundin, CEO), McEwen Mining (Rob McEwen, Chairman), Mercuria (Daniel Jaeggi, CEO; Marco Dunand, Founder), Pan American Energy (Alejandro Bulgheroni, CEO, & Bettina Bulgheroni, Vice President), Pilbara minerals (Dale Henderson, CEO), Sigma Lithium (Ana Cabral-Gardner, CEO), Vale (Gustavo Pimenta, CEO), and Volcan Mining (Nicolás Mallo Huergo, CEO).

Following the meeting, Rio Tinto, Zijin Mining, and First Quantum contacted the initiative to take part in the dialogue going forward.

illuminem was exclusively invited to attend on the sidelines of the meeting, reflecting our role as a trusted advisor on sustainable transition issues.

Continuing the church-industry dialogue

Under Pope Francis (see the dedication from illuminem editorial board), the Vatican often adopted a direct and at times confrontational stance toward extractive industries. In 2018, Francis urged heads of BP and Exxonmobil to halt new fossil fuel exploration, warning that “energy use must not destroy civilisation.” His papacy placed environmental justice, indigenous rights, and the social costs of extraction at the centre of Catholic social teaching.

This latest Vatican meeting is part of the Building Bridges Initiative launched in 2022 under Pope Francis and coordinated by the Pontifical Commission for Latin America (PCAL). This marked the seventh meeting in the series, following dialogues that have brought together bishops, heads of states, universities, labour unions, business associations, organised communities, and indigenous groups across the Americas. The initiative is explicitly designed around themes including just transition pathways and socio-climatic justice.

Pope Leo XIV demonstrated an evolution of Pope Francis’ approach centred around institutional bridge‑building and shared responsibility, retaining the same ethical foundations while adopting a less confrontational tone.

In previous speeches, Pope Leo has acknowledged the central paradox of the green transition: modern technologies, from renewable energy systems to digital infrastructure, depend on minerals often extracted under conditions linked to conflict, and human rights violations.

Referring to coltan mining in the Democratic Republic of Congo, he has warned: “Without these minerals, many of the technological devices we use today would not exist. Still, their extraction depends on paramilitary violence, child labour and the displacement of populations.”

Severine Deneulin, co‑author of the Vatican report Catholic Approaches to Mining, notes that the Church’s core concern remains “the protection of human dignity and the human good.” 

Key actors shaping the agenda

Two central figures in shaping this agenda are Emilce Cuda and Patricio Lombardi.

Emilce Cuda is an Argentine theologian, University professor, and most importantly high official of the Roman Curia, holding the position of Secretary of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America (first by the side of Cardinal Prevost before he was elected Pope). For the past four years, she has worked to build synodal dialogue in the territory. Cuda has been dubbed "the woman who knows how to read Pope Francis" for her unique development of the Theology of the People, concepts of Integral Ecology and pueblo-pobre-trabajador (“people-poor-worker” in Spanish), suggesting that the marginalised of our society are the ultimate workers of our world, where grace operates. She played a key role in focusing the executives’ attention on the importance of mining workers’ rights during the preparation prior to the papal meeting.

Her achievements are significant, as the first laywoman to receive a pontifical PhD in moral theology, and the first woman to hold an executive position in the Pontifical Commission for Latin America, a ministerial level at the Vatican. She has several degrees beyond her PhD in Theology, including a MBA and the degree of Doctor in Humane Letters honoris causa from the Loyola University Chicago. 

When the University of Rosario conferred her the degree of Doctor in honoris causa, Pope Francis himself sent a handwritten letter of thanks to the university for the recognition as "a deserved distinction for the academic, intellectual and personal merits of Emilce, a tireless fighter for social justice, peace, decent work and the beauty of creation". Even during the new pontificate, she has maintained the role of being a key intellectual force behind the Vatican’s socio‑climatic approach.

Patricio Lombardi, an illuminem thought leader, is the only living person to have held ministerial positions in both the United States and Latin America. He served in Argentina as the first minister of Climate of the Americas, and also as Deputy Secretary of State for Latin America in the State of Florida. After his political career, he founded the Environmental Markets Fairness Foundation which is now respected as a world-leading institution focused around nature credits and the work integrity in emerging markets, playing a growing role in shaping how environmental impacts are managed in mining regions. Lombardi facilitated the conversation next to professor Cuda.

Among the executives, Integra Capital President José Luis Manzano, BHP CEO Mike Henry, and Ivanhoe Mines Chairman Robert Friedland took a central role in coordinating the meeting.

José Luis Manzano is an Argentine businessman and former politician who has played a central role in the development of energy, infrastructure, and mining projects across Latin America over several decades. Now active as an investor and board-level figure in the sector, Manzano has been closely involved in projects linked to hydrocarbons, mining, and regional infrastructure, particularly in Argentina and the wider region.

Robert Friedland is a Canadian-American mining entrepreneur who has played a pivotal role in the discovery, financing, and development of major mineral projects across multiple continents over several decades. As Founder and Executive Chairman of Ivanhoe Mines, Friedland has been closely involved in large-scale copper, zinc, and platinum-group metals projects, particularly in emerging and frontier jurisdictions. During the lunch after the meeting with Pope Leo, he urged the other executives to continue their journey of dialogue over sustainable mining, coordinated by the Pontifical Commission. Just a few days after the meeting, Friedman was also invited to the White House alongside other executives in the room by the Trump Administration.

 Chairman of Ivanhoe Mines Robert Friedland addresses fellow executives over lunch at the Vatican

An ongoing engagement

Pope Leo has warned that the benefits of minerals-enabled progress can carry unacceptable human costs when supply chains are linked to conflict, labor abuses or community displacement - pushing the sector toward stronger standards on working conditions, traceability and social license. The meeting reflects a growing recognition that long-term project viability increasingly depends on community trust and credible social and environmental practices.

As Rohitesh Dhawan, CEO of the International Council on Mining and Metals, has previously observed: “Part of the dialogue is to help the industry recognise our obligations, through the lens of the Church. And part of it is to better the understanding of faith leaders of what mining is and isn’t.” 

Glencore’s CEO also added on the side of the meeting: “Conversations like these play an important role in reinforcing a responsible and sustainable future for our industry and the communities we serve. Glencore welcomes the opportunity for increased collaboration and dialogue with the Holy See and all stakeholders to agree on pragmatic and actionable pathways that can strengthen existing mining practices.”

As the race for critical minerals accelerates, the question is no longer whether extraction will expand, but under what moral framework it will unfold. By convening industry leaders at the highest level, the Vatican is positioning itself not as an adversary of mining, but as a long-term counterweight to short-termism, building bridges with the sector while amplifying the voices that could not be present in the room. The real test will not be the symbolism of the meeting, but whether it catalyses measurable shifts in governance, traceability, and community partnership across the sector.

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