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By Chloe Mayer
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Vice President JD Vance has paid tribute to Pope Francis, who died on Easter Monday, just a day after the pair met.
The U.S. vice president was granted one of the last audiences with the ailing head of the Catholic Church, when the pair shared a private meeting at the Vatican on Sunday.
The politician, who was baptized into the Catholic Church in 2019, took to his official @VP account on X (formerly Twitter) after the meeting to share photographs of the occasion and describe what it meant to him. But within a day, he posted a new, much more somber message on his personal X page, to pay his respects after learning of the 88-year-old pope's death.
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Why It Matters
The pope was the head of the Catholic church, which comprises some 1.4 billion followers around the world. He had led the church for 12 years and had been considered a relatively liberal and tolerant pontiff, such as extending a more sympathetic attitude toward gay people than his predecessors, for example. However, he had also sparked controversy when he compared abortion to "hiring a hit man... to resolve a problem."
Ahead of Vance's meeting with the pope, there had been tension between the Vatican and President Donald Trump's administration over immigration and humanitarian issues surrounding refuges.
What To Know
Vance met Vatican officials on Saturday, and then enjoyed a lightning audience with the pope on Easter Sunday.
The Vatican said there was an "exchange of opinions" between its officials and Vance at Saturday's meeting. Both sides shared their views "on the international situation," a Vatican statement said, "especially regarding countries affected by war, political tensions and difficult humanitarian situations, with particular attention to migrants, refugees, and prisoners."
Vance's office said they had all "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."
Vance then went on to meet the pope himself on Easter Sunday.
What People Are Saying
After meeting the pope at the weekend, Vice President JD Vance took to X to say: "It was an honor to meet with Pope Francis, [Italian] Prime Minister [Giorgia] Meloni, and Church officials in Italy this weekend. Visiting Rome with my family during Holy Week was an incredible experience."
After news broke of the pope's death, Vance shared a link to a homily—a type of religious lesson—that the pope had given during the pandemic. "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," Vance wrote on X.
"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."
The homily, written in March 2020, compared world events at the time to "an unexpected, turbulent storm," but went on to describe Jesus' faith in God to protect him while he was on a boat during a tempest.
The Vatican shared a statementon X, saying: "At 9:45 a.m. on Easter Monday, Cardinal Kevin Farrell, Camerlengo of the Apostolic Chamber, spoke these words at the Casa Santa Marta: 'Dearest brothers and sisters, with deep sorrow I must announce the death of our Holy Father Francis. At 7:35 this morning, the Bishop of Rome, Francis, returned to the house of the Father. His entire life was dedicated to the service of the Lord and of His Church. He taught us to live the values of the Gospel with fidelity, courage, and universal love, especially in favor of the poorest and most marginalized. With immense gratitude for his example as a true disciple of the Lord Jesus, we commend the soul of Pope Francis to the infinite merciful love of the One and Triune God.'"
What Happens Next
Catholics around the world will be among those mourning the pope's death, and there will be a public viewing of his body before he is laid to rest. Thoughts will also be turning to who will be the next pope, with the College of Cardinals set to begin the process that will see them selecting the next leader of the church.
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