Vice President Vance and second girl Usha Vance met Pope Leo XIV whereas in Vatican Metropolis for the pontiff’s inauguration mass on Sunday.
Earlier than exiting St. Peter’s Sq., the vice chairman and second girl greeted Pope Leo XIV, a spokesperson for the vice chairman mentioned.
Vance and the primary American pope shook hands and appeared to briefly speak for a number of seconds. The second girl stood with Vance, sporting a black lace veil.
Vance led the U.S. delegation to the inauguration mass, together with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and his spouse, Jeanette Rubio. Vance transformed to Catholicism in 2019 and met with Pope Francis final month simply earlier than he died.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky additionally attended the mass and greeted the pope after. The pope recently offered to host leaders from Russia and Ukraine on the Vatican to dealer a peace deal of their ongoing struggle.
Vance’s greeting with the pope can also be notable as a result of Leo has shared criticism of the vice chairman’s stance on immigration previously.
In February, he shared an opinion article that criticized Vance on X with the headline, “JD Vance is improper: Jesus doesn’t ask us to rank our love for others.” He additionally shared an article with the headline “Pope Francis’ letter, JD Vance’s ‘ordo amoris’ and what the Gospel asks of all of us on immigration.”
Vance has obtained criticism from different Catholics over his stance on migrants and his feedback that Christians love their households, neighbors and fellow residents earlier than the remainder of the world.