US Vice President JD Vance met briefly with Pope Francis on Sunday to exchange Easter greetings after the pontiff criticised the Trump administration’s migrant deportation plans.
Francis, who is recovering from a near-fatal bout of pneumonia, received Vance in one of the reception rooms of the Vatican hotel where he lives.
The 88-year-old pope offered the Catholic vice president three big chocolate Easter eggs for Vance’s three young children, who did not attend, as well as a Vatican tie and rosaries.
“I know you have not been feeling great but it’s good to see you in better health,” Vance told Francis. “Thank you for seeing me.”
After the brief visit, Vance joined his family for Easter Mass at St. Paul Outside the Walls, one of the four pontifical basilicas in Rome.
Vance, who converted to Catholicism in 2019, has clashed with the pope over the Trump administration’s policy on migration and plans to deport migrants en masse.
Just days before he was hospitalised in February, Francis warned the US policies would deprive migrants of their inherent dignity.
In a letter to bishops in the US, Francis also appeared to respond to Vance directly for having claimed that Catholic doctrine justified such policies.
Vance has acknowledged Francis’ criticism but has said he will continue to defend his views.
During an appearance at the National Catholic Prayer Breakfast in Washington in late February, Vance didn’t address the issue specifically but called himself a “baby Catholic” and acknowledged there are “things about the faith that I don’t know”.
Vance met on Saturday with the Vatican secretary of state, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, and foreign minister, Archbishop Paul Gallagher.
The vice president’s office said he 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”.
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The Vatican, for its part, said there was an “exchange of opinions” including over migrants and refugees and current conflicts.
The Holy See has responded cautiously to the Trump administration while seeking to continue productive relations in keeping with its tradition of diplomatic neutrality.
It has expressed alarm over the administration’s crackdown on migrants and cuts in international aid while insisting on peaceful resolutions to the wars in Ukraine and Gaza.
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