Pope Francis’s Last Public Meeting Ended with a Tense Moment with JD Vance, Following His Criticism of How Migrants Were Treated by the Trump Administration

Pope Francis passed away on Easter Monday, a mere day following his meeting with US Vice President JD Vance in an effort to improve their strained relationship with the head of the Catholic church.

The 88-year-old Pope and Vance had an uncomfortable interaction at the Vatican on Easter Sunday following Francis’ criticism of the Trump administration’s handling of undocumented immigrants.

This incident occurred just a day after Vance, a recent Catholic convert, seemed to have been disregarded by the Pope and had to instead confer with the Vatican’s secretary of state, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, and the foreign minister, Archbishop Peter Gallagher.

The Vatican said the meeting between the vice president and the Holy Father was ‘brief’ and lasted a few minutes.  

Vance and the Pope tangled sharply over migration and the Trump administration´s plans to deport migrants en masse. Francis made caring for migrants a hallmark of his papacy.

The pope offered the Catholic vice president three big chocolate Easter eggs for Vance’s three young children, who did not attend, as well as a Vatican tie and rosaries.

‘I know you have not been feeling great but it’s good to see you in better health,’ Vance told the Pope. ‘Thank you for seeing me.’

Vance´s motorcade entered Vatican City through a side gate while Easter Mass was being celebrated in St. Peter´s Square. Francis had delegated the celebration of the Mass to another cardinal.

The Vatican said they met for a few minutes at the Domus Santa Marta ‘to exchange Easter greetings.’ 

Vance’s office said the vice president ‘expressed his gratitude to Pope Francis for inviting him to meet on Easter Sunday and for the hospitality the Vatican has extended to his family.’

‘I pray for you every day,’ Vance said as he bid Francis farewell. ‘God bless you.’

In all, Vance´s motorcade was on Vatican territory for 17 minutes. 

The vice president later joined his family for Easter Mass at St. Paul Outside the Walls, one of the four pontifical basilicas in Rome. 

The Vances visited the tomb of the apostle St. Paul that is said to be located there.

Just days before he was hospitalised in February, Francis blasted the 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 acknowledged Francis´ criticism but has said he will continue to defend his views. 

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.’

Vance met Saturday with the Vatican secretary of state, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, and foreign minister, Archbishop Paul Gallagher.

The vice president´s office said he and Parolin ‘discussed their shared religious faith, Catholicism in the United States, the plight of persecuted Christian communities around the world, and President Trump´s commitment to restoring world peace.’

The Vatican, for its part, said there was an ‘exchange of opinions’ including over migrants and refugees and current conflicts.

The Holy See responded cautiously to the Trump administration while seeking to continue productive relations in keeping with its tradition of diplomatic neutrality. 

It expressed alarm over the administration’s crackdown on migrants and cuts in international aid while insisting on peaceful resolutions to the wars in Ukraine and Gaza.

Vance spent 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.

The vice president, 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.

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 hospitalised 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.’

Those concerns were reflected in the Vatican’s statement issued today which said the talks were cordial and expressed satisfaction with the Trump administration’s commitment to protecting freedom of religion and conscience.

‘There was an exchange of opinions on the international situation, especially regarding countries affected by war, political tensions and difficult humanitarian situations, with particular attention to migrants, refugees and prisoners,’ the statement said.

‘Finally, hope was expressed for serene collaboration between the state and the Catholic Church in the United States, whose valuable service to the most vulnerable people was acknowledged.’

The reference to ‘serene collaboration’ appeared to refer to Vance’s accusation that the US Conference of Catholic Bishops was resettling ‘illegal immigrants’ in order to get federal funding. 

Senior US cardinals have pushed back strongly against the claim.