Vice President JD Vance was one of the last people to see Pope Francis alive

Not long before what would become his final public appearance, a blessing of the crowds gathered for Easter Sunday mass in St Peter’s Square and an unexpected popemobile tour of the piazza, Pope Francis welcomed Vice President JD Vance.

Among the last individuals to interact with the pontiff before his passing early Monday morning (April 21, 2025) was US vice-president JD Vance, a passionate though relatively new convert to Roman Catholicism.

The meeting took place Sunday morning (April 20, 2025) at the Domus Santa Marta guest house, the modest residence where Francis spent his 12-year papacy. According to statements from the Vatican and Vance’s office, they exchanged brief Easter greetings, and the 88-year-old pope gifted the vice-president rosaries, a Vatican tie and three large chocolate Easter eggs for his children.

Despite Vance’s much-publicized faith, this encounter surprised many in both Washington and Rome. The two had engaged in heated public disagreements recently over the Trump administration’s immigration policies, particularly regarding mass deportation efforts.

In a February letter to US Catholic bishops, the leader of the world’s 1.4 billion Roman Catholics described the mass deportations as a “major crisis” that was damaging “the dignity of many men and women”.

Francis acknowledged the right of a country to keep its communities safe from people who had committed violent or serious crimes, but said: “What is built on the basis of force, and not on the truth about the equal dignity of every human being, begins badly and will end badly.”

The bishop of Rome’s message couldn’t have been clearer to an administration known for its direct communication style.

Francis also challenged Vance’s use of the medieval Catholic concept of ordo amoris, or rightly ordered love, which the vice-president had cited to argue that care should prioritize one’s immediate community and fellow citizens before extending globally.

“Christian love is not a concentric expansion of interests that little by little extend to other persons and groups,” the pope pointed out in his letter to the bishops. “The true ordo amoris that must be promoted is that which we discover by meditating constantly on the parable of the Good Samaritan, that is, by meditating on the love that builds a fraternity open to all, without exception.”

While Vance acknowledged the pontiff’s criticism, he maintained his stance. At February’s national Catholic prayer breakfast in Washington DC, he sidestepped the specific issue but described himself as a “baby Catholic” and admitted there were “things about the faith that I don’t know.”

Francis had previously taken public stands against Trump’s policies. During a Mexico visit in February 2016, months before Trump’s first presidential victory, the pope delivered a pointed critique of the business mogul’s signature border wall proposal.

“Someone who only thinks about constructing walls, wherever they might be, rather than building bridges, cannot be considered Christian,” he declared bluntly. “This isn’t what the gospel teaches us.”

The response from Trump was swift and heated. “For a religious leader to question someone’s faith is truly disgraceful,” he fired back. “No leader, particularly a religious one, has any right to judge another person’s religious beliefs or faith.”

Just before the papal meeting, Vance’s team had met with Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s Secretary of State, and Archbishop Paul Gallagher, who handles foreign affairs.

While the Vatican described these discussions as cordial, they noted there had been “an exchange of views on international matters, specifically regarding nations impacted by warfare, political tensions and challenging humanitarian situations, with special focus on migrants, refugees, and those imprisoned.”

Despite their past clashes, one of Francis’s final visitors was among the first to mourn his death publicly.

“I just learned of the passing of Pope Francis,” Vance posted on X on Monday. “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 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

While the private details of Sunday’s meeting between the two men will likely remain unknown, Francis’s final Urbi et Orbi message, read on his behalf during mass at St Peter’s Square that Sunday, carried his characteristic call for compassion and understanding.

“How much disdain is often shown toward those who are vulnerable, marginalized, and migrants,” the message stated. “On this day, I want us all to renew our hope and revive our trust in others, including those who differ from us, or who come from faraway places, bringing unfamiliar traditions, ways of life and ideas. For we are all God’s children.”