Washington — Vice President JD Vance reacted to the death of Pope Francis a day after meeting with the pontiff on Easter Sunday, saying he was “happy to see him yesterday,” though he noted that Francis “was obviously very ill.”
“My heart goes out to the millions of Christians all over the world who loved him,” Vance said in a post on X.
The vice president met briefly with Francis at the Vatican Sunday while spending the Easter weekend in Rome with his family. During the visit, the vice president told the pontiff that it was good to see him “in better health” and received gifts for himself and his family.
Vance said on X that he would “always remember” the pontiff for a homily he delivered in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, which he called “really quite beautiful.”
Vance and Francis’ meeting came after the two men had aired sharp disagreement on immigration as the pontiff had long condemned the Trump administration’s approach. Vance, who converted to Catholicism in 2019, acknowledged Francis’ criticism during a speech at the National Catholic Prayer Breakfast in Washington in February, while saying that his goal “is not to litigate with him or any other clergy member about who’s right and who’s wrong.”
“Every day since I heard of Pope Francis’ illness, I say a prayer for the Holy Father,” Vance said at the time. “Because while yes, I was certainly surprised when he criticized our immigration policy in the way that he has, I also know that the pope, I believe that the pope, is fundamentally a person who cares about the flock of Christians under his leadership.”
Kaia Hubbard is a politics reporter for CBS News Digital, based in Washington, D.C.
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