Pope Francis Skips Meeting with US Vice President JD Vance

Pope Francis did not attend a scheduled official meeting with U.S. Vice President JD Vance on Saturday, instead choosing to have his top aide, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, meet with him.

The meeting, which took place as part of Vance’s Easter weekend visit to Rome, covered a range of global issues. The Vatican said the discussion touched on “countries affected by war, political tensions and difficult humanitarian situations, with particular attention to migrants, refugees, and prisoners.” The statement also called for “serene collaboration” between the Catholic Church and the White House.

This call for calm cooperation comes amid growing friction between the Catholic Church and the Trump administration—particularly over the president’s immigration policies.

Two Versions of the Conversation

While the Vatican emphasized migration and humanitarian crises, Vance’s office issued a separate statement that did not mention those topics. Instead, it focused on “the plight of persecuted Christian communities around the world” and highlighted former President Trump’s “commitment to restoring world peace,” as reported by Bloomberg.

Though Pope Francis was absent from the formal meeting, sources within the Vatican told Sky News that Vance did briefly meet the pontiff privately at his residence. No information about their conversation has been released.

Tensions Over Deportation and Doctrine

Pope Francis has been a vocal critic of President Trump’s mass deportation plans, which Vice President Vance has supported. The pontiff has previously described these efforts as a “disgrace” and a “grave sin.”

Vance, a convert to Catholicism in 2019 and now the highest-ranking Catholic in the U.S. government, has invoked theological ideas to justify the administration’s approach. In February, Pope Francis pushed back without naming Vance directly, writing, “Christian love is not a concentric expansion of interests that little by little extend to other persons and groups.”

Vance responded by acknowledging his own inexperience with Church doctrine, calling himself a “baby Catholic” and saying there are “things about the faith that I don’t know.”

Clash with U.S. Bishops

Earlier this year, Vance faced criticism from within the American Church after accusing the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops of helping to “resettle illegal immigrants” to receive federal funding. New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan strongly denounced the claim, calling it “scurrilous,” “nasty,” and “not true.”

Francis Recovering

Pope Francis, who is 88, is recovering from a serious case of pneumonia that required hospitalization for over a month. Despite this, he has returned to official duties and recently met with King Charles and Queen Camilla at the Vatican.

Vice President Vance, accompanied by his wife Usha, is spending Easter in Rome following meetings with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. The couple also attended the Vatican’s Good Friday service, according to Politico.