Pope Francis met U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance before bestowing the Urbi et Orbi (Latin for to the city and to the world) blessing at the end of the Easter mass presided over by Cardinal Angelo Comastri in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican on April 20, 2025. | Photo Credit: AP
U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance was the last leader to meet Pope Francis at his Vatican residence to exchange Easter greetings on Sunday (April 20, 2025), before the Pope passed away on Monday morning after battling a prolonged respiratory illness.
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Mr. Vance, a Catholic who has clashed with the pontiff over the Trump administration’s immigration policies, visited Italy with his family over the weekend and met senior Vatican officials for more formal talks on Saturday. Pope Francis had not taken part in those discussions.
The Pope and Vatican officials had criticised several of the policies of President Donald Trump’s administration, including his plans to deport millions of migrants from the U.S. and his widespread cuts to foreign aid and domestic welfare programmes.
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Pope Francis had called the immigration crackdown a “disgrace”. Mr. Vance, who became Catholic in 2019, had cited medieval-era Catholic teaching to justify the policy.
The pope had rebutted the theological concept Mr. Vance used to defend the crackdown in an unusual open letter to the U.S. Catholic bishops about the Trump administration in February, and had called Trump’s plan a “major crisis” for the United States.
Also read | Britain’s King Charles makes surprise visit to Pope Francis
Earlier this month, Britain’s King Charles and Queen Camilla had a unannounced meeting with the Pope at the Vatican. Charles and Camilla had been due to make a formal state visit to the Vatican, but postponed their plans after doctors prescribed Pope Francis two months of rest.
The Pope had met the royal couple privately and had offered his best wishes for their 20th wedding anniversary. Pope Francis and Charles have met twice previously in 2017 and 2019, before Charles became king. The late Queen Elizabeth II visited Francis at the Vatican in 2014.
Published – April 21, 2025 03:11 pm IST
