J.D. Vance: the leader who met Pope Francis before his passing away

U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance was the last leader to meet Pope Francis at his Vatican residence, before the Pope passed away on April 21 morning

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.

Pope Francis passes away: LIVE Updates

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.

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.

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