Meanwhile, Bill O'Reilly is shaking hands with the pope in Vatican City

(Image credit: ALBERTO PIZZOLI/AFP/Getty Images)

published 19 April 2017

As reports surfaced in the U.S. that Bill O'Reilly is on his way out at Fox News, the longtime talk show host was seen shaking hands with Pope Francis in Vatican City. O'Reilly, who has been vacationing in Italy for the past week amid allegations of sexual harassment, was photographed Wednesday morning in St. Peter's Square sitting in the VIP section of the pope's weekly general audience. While the event is open to the public, sitting in the special section near the papal throne requires special tickets from the prefecture of the papal household, The New York Times reported.

O'Reilly suggested on his show last year that he'd like to talk to the pope about his remark condemning President Trump's plans to build a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border. It's not clear if O'Reilly got much of a chance to talk to the pope during their brief encounter Wednesday; the Vatican said last week that Francis has no plans to meet with O'Reilly during his visit to Italy.

New York's Gabriel Sherman reported Wednesday that the Murdoch family, which owns Fox News, has decided to fire O'Reilly after dozens of advertisers jumped ship amid reports that the network and O'Reilly have had to pay millions since 2002 to settle sexual harassment allegations made against the host.