American Vice President JD Vance met Pope Francis the day before he passed away. On April 20, 2025 Vance visited the Pope as the latter remained seated in his wheelchair, appearing rather frail. The Pope was also barely audible in the video that the Vatican released after his meeting with Vance.
As shown in the video, Vance entered the room and bent down to greet Pope Francis. Vance said, “Hello. So good to see you.” The Pope’s response, however, could not be heard. A priest, who was present as a translator answered on the Pope’s behalf. This seemed to move Vance, as he further said, “I know you’ve not been feeling great, but it’s good to see you in better health.”
After some more exchange and taking a photo standing on the Pope’s right side, Vance bid adieu to the Pope after saying, “God bless you.” These were his last words to the Pope before his passing, as per ABC News. As the Pope passed away the next day, Vance took to X to post his condolences.
He posted on the social media platform, “I just learned of the passing of Pope Francis. My heart goes out to the millions of Christians all over the world who loved him.” He further added, “”I was happy to see him yesterday, though he was obviously very ill. But I’ll always remember him for the below homily he gave in the very early days of COVID. It was really quite beautiful. May God rest his soul.”
I just learned of the passing of Pope Francis. My heart goes out to the millions of Christians all over the world who loved him.
I was happy to see him yesterday, though he was obviously very ill. But I’ll always remember him for the below homily he gave in the very early days…
— JD Vance (@JDVance) April 21, 2025
After his meeting with the Pope on April 20, Vance attended Easter mass at the Basilica of St Paul Outside the Walls as reported by Amomama. While the two had previously publicly disagreed on certain things like Donald Trump’s immigration policies and new deportation laws, their meeting on Easter remained cordial.
Vance was also given gifts during the meeting as a priest offered him chocolate eggs and a tray of items including rosaries and a Vatican tie, saying, “These are for your children.” To this Vance replied, “Thank you. So beautiful.” Before meeting with the Pope, Vance had met Senior Officials of the Vatican to discuss issues regarding to immigration and global conflicts, topics on which Pope Francis had clear and determined views.
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After the passing of Pope Francis, who was also the first Latin American leader of the Roman Catholic Church, the Vatican is now preparing for the election of the next Pope and certain rules and regulations of the church are being followed to ensure a smooth progression of the process.
