VATICAN CITY (AP) 鈥 U.S. Vice President JD Vance met briefly with Pope Francis on Sunday to exchange Easter greetings, after they got into a long-distance tangle over 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.
鈥淚 know you have not been feeling great but it's good to see you in better health,鈥 Vance told the pope. 鈥淭hank you for seeing me.鈥
Vance鈥檚 motorcade entered Vatican City through a side gate while Easter Mass was being celebrated in St. Peter鈥檚 Square. Francis had of the Mass to another cardinal.
The Vatican said they met for a few minutes at the Domus Santa Marta 鈥渢o exchange Easter greetings.鈥 Vance's office said that they met, but provided no further details. In all, Vance's motorcade was on Vatican territory for 17 minutes.
He 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 that is said to be located there.
Vance, who converted to Catholicism in 2019, and the pope have and the Trump administration鈥檚 plans to deport migrants en masse. Francis has made caring for migrants a hallmark of his papacy.
Just days before he was hospitalized in February, Francis blasted the deportation plans, warning that they would deprive migrants of their inherent dignity. In a letter to U.S. bishops, Francis also appeared to respond to Vance directly for having such policies.
Vance has but has said he will continue to defend his views. During a Feb. 28 appearance at the 春色直播 Catholic Prayer Breakfast in Washington, Vance didn鈥檛 address the issue specifically but called himself a 鈥渂aby Catholic鈥 and acknowledged there are 鈥渢hings about the faith that I don鈥檛 know.鈥
Vance met Saturday with the Vatican secretary of state, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, and foreign minister, Archbishop Paul Gallagher.
Vance鈥檚 office said he and Parolin 鈥渄iscussed their shared religious faith, Catholicism in the United States, the plight of persecuted Christian communities around the world, and President Trump鈥檚 commitment to restoring world peace.鈥
The Vatican, for its part, said there was an 鈥渆xchange of opinions鈥 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鈥檚 crackdown on migrants and while insisting on peaceful resolutions to the wars in and
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Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP鈥檚 with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
