VP Vance Meets Pope Francis on Easter Sunday in Final Papal Encounter

Vice President JD Vance met with Pope Francis at the Vatican on Easter Sunday, April 20, 2025, in what would tragically become one of the Pope’s final official acts before his death the following day. The meeting, which took place during the holiest day of the Christian calendar, saw the 88-year-old pontiff—visibly frail and in a wheelchair—exchange gifts with the Vice President. Francis presented Vance with three chocolate Easter eggs for his children, a Vatican tie, and rosaries, while Vance told the Pope “I pray for you every day.”

The Easter Sunday meeting was significant not only for its timing but also for its context. Vance, a Catholic convert, represented the Trump administration at a moment when tensions between the Vatican’s social justice teachings and U.S. conservative political movements were particularly acute. Pope Francis had been a vocal advocate for immigrants, the poor, and marginalized communities—positions that often conflicted with the Trump administration’s policies on immigration enforcement, refugee resettlement, and social welfare programs.

The encounter would prove to be historically poignant. Less than 24 hours after this meeting, Pope Francis would die at age 88, making this Easter Sunday exchange one of his final diplomatic engagements. The meeting also foreshadowed the complex relationship that would develop between the next Pope—the first American pontiff, who would take the name Leo XIV—and the Trump administration, particularly regarding immigration policy and the treatment of detained migrants. The fact that an American Vice President met with the Pope in his final hours, followed by the election of an American Pope, created an unprecedented moment of American influence in Vatican affairs.