Vice President JD Vance met with Pope Francis on April 20 to celebrate Easter in one of the reception rooms at the Vatican hotel where the pope resides.
“I know you have not been feeling great, but it’s good to see you in better health,” Vance told the pope. “Thank you for seeing me.”
Francis is still recovering from a near-fatal bout of pneumonia, which included a rare respiratory infection that had many fearful for the 88-year-old pope’s ability to continue leading the Vatican.
The pope offered the U.S. vice president three large chocolate Easter eggs for his three young children, who were not in attendance.
Francis also offered Vance a Vatican tie and rosaries.
Vance had met with Vatican officials the day prior. While Easter Mass was being celebrated in St. Peter’s Square, Vance’s motorcade entered the city through a side gate as the pope delegated the mass’s celebration to another cardinal.
Francis and Vance met for a few minutes at the Domus Santa Mart to “exchange Easter greetings,” according to the Vatican. Vance’s office confirmed the meeting but did not offer further details. The vice president’s motorcade was at the Vatican for 17 minutes.
“The rightly formed conscience cannot fail to make a critical judgment and express its disagreement with any measure that tacitly or explicitly identifies the illegal status of some migrants with criminality,” Francis wrote. “What is built on the basis of force, and not on the truth about the equal dignity of every human being, begins badly and will end badly.”
Vance, who converted to Catholicism in 2019, had invoked a medieval Catholic theological teaching known as “ordo amoris” to justify the Trump administration’s deportations, explaining his reasoning to Fox News.
“You love your family, and then you love your neighbor, and then you love your community, and then you love your fellow citizens in your own country. And then after that, you can focus and prioritize the rest of the world,” he said.
On April 19, Vance met with Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin and Foreign Minister Archbishop Paul Gallagher.
Vance and Parolin “discussed their shared religious faith, Catholicism in the United States, the plight of persecuted Christian communities around the world, and President Trump’s commitment to restoring world peace,” according to the vice president’s office.
The Vatican stated that its officials and Vance had an “exchange of opinions” on topics including migrants, refugees, and current global conflicts.
On April 20, the pope greeted tens of thousands of Catholics in an open-air popemobile in St. Peter’s Square for the first time since he survived double pneumonia.
Francis sat in a raised chair in the rear of the white vehicle, passing by many who were holding national flags and shouting “viva il papa!” or “long live the pope!”
