Pope holds brief meeting with JD Vance on Easter Sunday

US Vice President JD Vance met with Pope Francis at the Casa Santa Marta, where the pontiff is recovering from double pneumonia after his 38-day hospital stay.

Sources at the Vatican said that Easter greetings were exchanged during the meeting, which lasted a few minutes. The meeting was a rapprochement between the Trump administration and the Vatican, after Pope Francis repeatedly criticised the US administration's tough immigration policies.

The meeting coincided with the Easter Mass, which was being celebrated in St. Peter's Square. As his recovery demanded him to cut back on his workload, the Pope had delegated the celebration of the Mass to cardinal Angelo Comastri, the retired archpriest of St. Peter's Basilica.

The Pope on the central lodge of St. Peter's Basilica to bestow the Urbi et Orbi (Latin for to the city and the world) blessing at end of the Easter mass. Sunday, April 2025. (The Pope on the central lodge of St. Peter's Basilica to bestow the Urbi et Orbi (Latin for to the city and the world) blessing at end of the Easter mass. Sunday, April 2025.)

However, after the Mass ended, the pontiff appeared on the central lodge of the basilica, where he bestowed the Urbi et Orbi blessing.

He then made a surprise appearance to bless thousands of people in St. Peter's Square as he drove through the piazza in the popemobile. The scene used to be common in the past, but unthinkable just a few weeks ago, when the Pope was hospitalised.

Pope Francis tours St. Peter's Square in his popemobile after Easter Mass in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican Sunday, April 20, 2025. (Pope Francis tours St. Peter's Square in his popemobile after Easter Mass in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican Sunday, April 20, 2025.)

Vance's Rome visit

Vance, who is visiting Rome with his family for Easter, met with senior Vatican officials on Saturday, including Secretary of State Pietro Parolin and Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, Secretary for Relations with States and International Organisations.

Both parties welcomed the good bilateral relations between the Vatican and the United States, and reiterated a common commitment to protecting the right to religious freedom and freedom of conscience, sources at the Vatican said.

There was also reportedly an exchange of views on the international situation, especially regarding countries marked by war, political tensions and humanitarian crises, with particular attention to migrants, refugees and prisoners and other topics of common interest.

On Friday, the US Vice President met with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni at Palazzo Chigi to discuss US-Italian relations, as well as trade negotiations with the European Union.