Vance was one of Pope Francis' last visitors
Vice President JD Vance was one of the last visitors of Pope Francis before the first Jesuit to lead the Catholic Church died at age Vance met with Francis briefly on Sunday to exchange Easter greetings in one of the reception rooms of the Vatican hotel where he'd been living since being disclosed from Rome's Gemmlli Hospital on March The pope had been hospitalized for five weeks after surviving a severe episode of pneumonia The -year-old pope on Sunday 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 PHOTO GALLERY POPE FRANCIS THROUGH THE YEARS I know you have not been feeling great but it s good to see you in better wellness Vance reported the pope Thank you for seeing me Vance acknowledged news of the pope's death early Monday I just learned of the passing of Pope Francis the vice president wrote on X My heart goes out to the millions of Christians all over the world who loved him I was happy to see him the last evening though he was obviously very ill But I ll reliably remember him for the below homily he gave in the very early days of COVID It was really quite beautiful May God rest his soul Vance shared a link to the Vatican's transcript of the March homily delivered by Francis from St Peter's Basilica five years ago In part the pope explained Embracing his cross means finding the courage to embrace all the hardships of the present time abandoning for a moment our eagerness for power and possessions in order to make room for the creativity that only the Spirit is capable of inspiring Rest in Peace Pope Francis the White House also wrote on X Vance s motorcade entered Vatican City on Sunday through a side gate while Easter Mass was being celebrated in St Peter s Square Francis had delegated the celebration of the Mass to another cardinal The Vatican announced they met for a sparse minutes at the Domus Santa Marta to exchange Easter greetings Vance s office revealed the vice president expressed his gratitude to Pope Francis for inviting him to meet on Easter Sunday and for the hospitality the Vatican has extended to his family I pray for you every day Vance declared as he bid Francis farewell God bless you POPE FRANCIS DEAD AT VATICAN SAYSIn all Vance s motorcade was on Vatican territory for minutes according to the Associated Press The vice president later joined his family for Easter Mass at St Paul Outside the Walls one of the four pontifical basilicas in Rome The Vances visited the tomb of the apostle St Paul who is disclosed to be located there Vance who converted to Catholicism in and the pope have tangled sharply over migration and the Trump administration s mass deportation plans Just days before he was hospitalized in February Francis announced the Trump administration's plans would deprive settlers of their inherent dignity In a letter to U S bishops Francis also appeared to respond to Vance directly for having claimed that Catholic doctrine justified such policies Vance has acknowledged Francis criticism but has announced he will continue to defend his views During a Feb appearance at the National Catholic Prayer Breakfast in Washington 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 Saturday with the Vatican secretary of state Cardinal Pietro Parolin and foreign minister Archbishop Paul Gallagher Vance s office reported 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 The Vatican for its part announced there was an exchange of opinions including over refugees and refugees and current conflicts The Associated Press contributed to this description
