A handshake, three chocolate eggs for his children back home, and a few polite words. The Easter Sunday meeting between Pope Francis and U.S. Vice President JD Vance was brief — just 17 minutes — but carried the weight of growing tensions over the Trump administration’s immigration policies.
The encounter took place in the morning at the Casa Santa Marta, the Pope’s residence, where the 88-year-old pontiff is recovering from a severe case of double pneumonia that sidelined him for weeks. “I know you’ve been unwell — it’s good to see you looking better,” Vance told the Pope, who welcomed him with blessed rosary beads and a Vatican-branded silk tie.
Vance’s motorcade entered the Vatican through a side entrance while the Easter Mass, led by Cardinal Angelo Comastri, was underway in St. Peter’s Square.
The Vatican described the meeting as a simple exchange of Easter greetings. There was no official statement from the United States, but the visit comes just days after the Pope delivered a scathing rebuke of Washington’s proposed mass deportation plan, calling it a violation of “the intrinsic dignity of migrants.”
The tension is not new. Since Vance, who converted to Catholicism in 2019, began citing Catholic doctrine in defense of Trump’s hardline immigration agenda, Pope Francis has chosen to respond directly. First with a letter to the U.S. bishops, then in public remarks reaffirming that “welcoming the stranger is a Gospel command, not a political option.”
At the National Catholic Prayer Breakfast in Washington on Feb. 28, Vance sidestepped direct confrontation but acknowledged the theological rift. “I’m a baby Catholic,” he said. “There’s still much I don’t understand about the faith.”
On the eve of Easter, Vance also held separate meetings with Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin and Archbishop Paul Gallagher, the Vatican’s top diplomat. A statement from the vice president’s office said the discussions touched on “shared Catholic faith, the plight of persecuted Christian communities, and President Trump’s commitment to restoring global peace.”
The Vatican, in a more measured tone, confirmed “an exchange of views” and noted specific talks on migration, refugee protection, and ongoing conflicts. While maintaining open channels with Washington, the Holy See has quietly expressed concerns about the administration’s hardline approach to immigration and the scaling back of international aid.
Later in the day, Vance attended Easter Mass at the Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls, one of Rome’s four major basilicas. There, joined by his wife and children, he prayed at the tomb of the Apostle Paul — a gesture of personal devotion that did little to mask the widening rift between the Roman Church and the administration he represents.
