JD Vance experienced a snub by Pope Francis during the Pope’s recent visit to the Vatican. The incident occurred alongside the Pope’s vocal criticism of the Trump administration’s policies towards migrants.
Despite being a Catholic convert, Vance did not have the opportunity to meet with Pope Francis. Instead, he had meetings with the Vatican secretary of state, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, and the foreign minister, Archbishop Peter Gallagher, on Saturday.
Although there were expectations for a brief encounter between Vance and Pope Francis, it did not materialize as the two have not crossed paths yet. Pope Francis, while recovering from pneumonia, has begun to resume some of his official duties.
Vance has been spending Easter weekend in Rome with his family and attended Good Friday services in St Peter’s Basilica on Friday after meeting with Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni.
Francis and Vance have tangled sharply over migration and the Trump administration’s plans to deport migrants en masse.
The Pontiff has made caring for migrants a hallmark of his papacy and his progressive views on social justice issues have often put him at odds with members of the more conservative US Catholic Church.
Vance, who converted in 2019, identifies with a small Catholic intellectual movement often called ‘postliberal’, which is viewed by some critics as having reactionary or authoritarian leanings.
Postliberals share some longstanding Catholic conservative views, such as opposition to abortion and LGBTQ+ rights.
US Vice President JD Vance, his wife second lady Usha Vance and their children attend Mass on Good Friday at St. Peter’s Basilica on April 18
Pope Francis leaves after a private visit at the ‘Regina Coeli’ prison where he met around 70 inmates as part of the Holy Thursday celebrations in Rome
The convoy of US Vice President JD Vance arrives at the Vatican ahead of his meeting with the Vatican’s Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin
They envision a counterrevolution in which they take over government bureaucracy and institutions like universities from within, replacing entrenched ‘elites’ with their own and acting upon their vision of the ‘common good.’
Just days before he was hospitalized in February, Francis blasted the Trump administration’s deportation plans, warning that they would deprive migrants of their inherent dignity.
In a letter to US bishops, Francis also appeared to respond to Vance directly for having claimed that Catholic doctrine justified such policies.
Vance had defended the administration’s America-first crackdown by citing a concept from medieval Catholic theology known in Latin as ‘ordo amoris.’
He has said the concept delineates a hierarchy of care – to family first, followed by neighbor, community, fellow citizens and lastly those elsewhere.
In his February 10 letter, Francis appeared to correct Vance’s understanding of the concept.
‘Christian love is not a concentric expansion of interests that little by little extends to other persons and groups,’ he wrote.
‘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.’
Vance has acknowledged Francis’ criticism but has said he would continue to defend his views.
JD Vance prays during the Good Friday Passion of the Lord service in Saint Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican, April 18
Pope Francis during a private visit at the ‘Regina Coeli’ prison where he met around 70 inmates as part of the Holy Thursday celebrations in Rome
Cardinal Baldassare Reina, Vicar General of Pope Francis for the Diocese of Rome, leads the procession started inside the Colosseum during the Via Crucis
During a February 28 appearance at the National Catholic Prayer Breakfast in Washington, Vance didn’t address the issue specifically but called himself a ‘baby Catholic’ and acknowledged there are ‘things about the faith that I don’t know.’
While he had criticized Francis on social media in the past, recently he has posted prayers for Francis’ recovery.
On Friday, Vance, his wife and three young children had front-row seats at the Vatican’s Good Friday service in St. Peter’s, a two-hour solemn commemoration featuring Latin and Italian readings. Francis did not attend.
But the pope has begun receiving visitors, including King Charles III, and this week ventured out of the Vatican to meet with prisoners at Rome’s central jail to keep a Holy Thursday appointment ministering to the most marginalized.
He has named other cardinals to preside over Easter services this weekend, but officials haven’t ruled out a possible brief greeting with Vance.
‘I’m grateful every day for this job, but particularly today where my official duties have brought me to Rome on Good Friday,’ Vance posted on X.
‘I wish all Christians all over the world, but particularly those back home in the US, a blessed Good Friday.’
