United States President Donald Trump arrived in Italy on Tuesday ahead of meetings with Pope Francis and Italian leaders, on the third leg of his first international trip since taking office.

Trump’s meeting with the leader of the world’s 1.2 billion Catholics on Wednesday morning comes after the pair sparred at a distance on issues including migration, climate change, and Islam.

Air Force One, carrying Trump, his wife Melania and his daughter Ivanka along with her husband Jared Kushner, landed at Rome’s Leonardo da Vinci airport.

The White House hopes the nine-day trip through the Middle East and Europe will shift focus away from domestic controversies and on to foreign policy.

As well as the pope, Trump is due to meet President Sergio Mattarella and Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni. He will see Gentiloni again on Friday (May 26) for a summit in Sicily of the Group of Seven (G7) richest nations.

Extra security precautions have been taken in Rome, with the areas around the presidential palace, Vatican City, the American ambassador’s residence and the U.S. embassy due to be temporarily closed to traffic.