United States Vice President JD Vance exchanged Easter greetings with Pope Francis on Sunday in Vatican City as part of his Rome visit, after a dispute over U.S. deportation policies.
The meeting followed Vance’s political tour in the Italian capital, having met with top government officials including Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Deputy Prime Minister Antonio Tajani.
The pope, who is recovering from a serious respiratory illness, met with the American vice president for several minutes to exchange Easter wishes, the Vatican said.
Vance’s motorcade remained in the Vatican for 17 minutes altogether, according to media reports.
On Saturday, Vance met with the Vatican’s top diplomat, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, amid friction between Washington and Pope Francis over U.S. President Donald Trump’s mass deportation policy.
“A cordial conversation took place” between the pontiff and Vance, the Vatican said in a statement.
“There was an exchange of opinions on the international situation, especially regarding countries affected by war, political tensions and difficult humanitarian situations, with particular attention to migrants, refugees, and prisoners,” it said.
The pontiff in February penned a strongly worded letter to bishops in the United States expressing concern over Washington’s deportation efforts, calling on them to consider the “infinite and transcendent dignity of every human person” and issuing a reminder that Jesus Christ himself lived a life of exile.
The pope’s uncertain health is already raising questions and rumors over who will succeed him, with cardinals more divided than ever.
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