Pope Francis and JD Vance, who do not agree very publicly on the attitude of the Trump administration towards immigration and his expulsion plans for migrants, have briefly met in Rome on Sunday to exchange greetings of Easter.
The meeting came a day after the American vice-president, who converted to Roman Catholicism in 2019, spoke with senior officials of the Vatican and had “an exchange of opinions” on international conflicts and immigration.
Francis, who recalls an almost deadly fight of pneumonia, received Vance in one of the reception rooms of the Vatican hotel where he lives. The 88-year-old pontiff offered the three great Easter eggs from Easter of the Vice-President for the three young children of Vance, who did not attend, as well as a tie and rosaries of the Vatican.
“I know you didn’t feel good, but it’s good to see you in better health,” said Vance to the Pope. “Thank you for seeing me.
The Vatican said the two men met for a few minutes at the Domus Santa Marta “to exchange greetings from Easter”. The Vance office confirmed that they met, but have provided no other details. In all, the procession of Vance was on the Vatican territory for 17 minutes.
Vance then joined his family for Easter Mass in St Paul outside the walls, one of the four pontifical basilica in Rome. The vances visited the tomb of the apostle St Paul which is there.
Vance and the head of the Roman Catholics of 1.4 billion in the world differ strongly with regard to the question of migration. In February, François – who made the care of migrants a characteristic of its papacy – warned that the mass deportation efforts of the Trump administration and other policies repressing immigration, led a “major crisis” which “damage the dignity of men and women”.
In a letter to the American bishops, Francis also seemed to respond directly to Vance for affirming that Catholic doctrine justified such politicians.
Vance, who recognized criticism from the pontiff, said that he would continue to defend his opinions. Although he did not address the question specifically during an appearance at the National Catholic Prayer Breakfast in Washington in February, Vance qualified as “Catholic baby” and recognized that there were “things on the faith that I do not know”.
On Saturday, Vance met the Secretary of State of the Vatican, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, and his Minister of Foreign Affairs, Archbishop Paul Gallagher.
The office of Vance said that he and the Paroline “discussed their shared religious faith, Catholicism in the United States, the fate of the Christian communities persecuted in the world and the commitment of President Trump to restore world peace”.
The Vatican, for his part, said that there had been an “exchange of opinions”, including migrants, refugees and conflicts.
“Finally, Hope was expressed for serene collaboration between the State and the Catholic Church in the United States, whose precious service to the most vulnerable people has been recognized,” added the Vatican in a press release.
The reference to “serene collaboration” seemed to refer to the accusation of Vance that the American conference of Catholic bishops reinforced “illegal immigrants” in order to obtain federal funding. The best American cardinals strongly rejected the complaint.
In the traditional Urbi and Orbi Message, which was read on his behalf on Easter Sunday, Francis called on the world leaders to help those who need it and work towards peace.
“I appeal to all those who occupy positions of political responsibility in our world not to give in to the logic of fear, which only leads to the isolation of others, but rather to use the resources available to help the needy, to fight against hunger and to encourage initiatives that promote development,” he said. “These are the” weapons “of peace: weapons that build the future, instead of sowing death seeds!”
The Associated Press contributed to this report
