Discussion topics included freedom of religion and immigration.
Vice President JD Vance met with the Vatican’s Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, on April 19, continuing his Easter trip to the Italian Peninsula.
Vance met with Cardinal Parolin and the Vatican’s Secretary for Relations with States and International Organizations, Archbishop Paul Gallagher, at around 10 a.m. local time on Holy Saturday.
The Holy See press office described the talks as cordial, and said both sides expressed their satisfaction for “the good existing bilateral relations between the Holy See and the United States of America, and the common commitment to protect the right to freedom of religion and conscience was reiterated.”
The Holy See also noted that both sides exchanged opinions on international matters and what it described as “difficult humanitarian situations,” particularly regarding countries affected by ongoing wars and political tensions, migrants, refugees, and prisoners.
His Holiness, Pope Francis I, has spoken out against the Trump administration’s position against illegal immigration. Still, Vatican officials recognized how the United States provides valuable services to the most vulnerable people, and both sides expressed hope for “serene collaboration” between the Vatican, the Catholic Church as a whole, and the United States.
Vance did not meet the pope, and Vatican officials have withheld confirmation of the pontiff’s participation in Holy Week masses and celebrations due to his continued recovery from a near-fatal respiratory infection earlier this year.
According to a spokesperson for the vice president, the meeting lasted a little over an hour and was immediately followed by Vatican officials bringing the second family to see the Sistine Chapel.
The White House press pool accompanying the vice president on this trip was prohibited from accompanying him into the meeting, and reported they were initially not even allowed to stand by inside the city state, but were ultimately moved into a designated corner of St. Peter’s Square. Press rejoined the second family upon their departure just after noon local time.
Vance, a convert to Catholicism, visited the Vatican on April 18 to participate in Good Friday at St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City with his wife and three children after his bilateral meeting with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
Vance’s participation in Holy Week in the heart of the Catholic world comes as the Trump administration commits to recognizing Holy Week, and Meloni said she was proud that the second family chose to spend their Easter in Rome.
