BURSTVice President Vance on Monday responded to Pope Francis's death, noting their meeting at the Vatican one day earlier.
Vance said the pope was “obviously very ill” during their visit on Easter Sunday but said he was grateful for the meeting.
“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,” Vance wrote on X.
“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,” he continued, linking to remarks from March 2020, when the pontiff urged followers to turn to faith to provide strength and “courage to embrace all the hardships of the present time.”
On Sunday evening, Vance wrote that it was “an honor to meet with Pope Francis” and others in Italy over the weekend, attaching several photos.
“Visiting Rome with my family during Holy Week was an incredible experience,” the vice president wrote.
Francis and Vance clashed in the past over the Trump administration’s deportation policy. In February, the pope sharply criticized the deportations and seemed to address directly Vance’s defense of the policy on religious grounds. The pope noted the Bible says to “welcome the stranger,” saying governments have the responsibility to do so as much as possible.
Vance at the time acknowledged Francis’s criticism but said he wouldn’t debate “who’s right and wrong.” He did not back down from his position but said Francis “cares about the flock of Christians under his leadership and the spiritual direction of the faith.”
Francis died Monday at 88 at his residence in the Vatican’s Casa Santa Marta after battling a long series of health complications stemming from a chronic lung disease, the Vatican announced.
The pontiff had been hospitalized on Feb. 14 with bronchitis, contracted pneumonia four days later and was listed in “critical condition” by the Vatican on Feb. 22. He never fully recovered.
The pope, born Jorge Mario Bergoglio in Argentina in 1936, broke barriers in the Catholic Church when he became the first leader of the Vatican City State to hail from the Americas, and the first to represent the Jesuit order, an intellectual wing of the church that prioritizes philanthropy. He was known for his human-rights advocacy and sharp political edge.