(The Hill) – President Trump on Monday marked Pope Francis’s death in a statement on social media hours after the trailblazing Catholic leader died at the age of 88.
“Rest in Peace Pope Francis! May God Bless him and all who loved him!” reads a post shared to Trump’s Truth Social account.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters early Monday that there were no immediate plans for Trump to attend the pope’s funeral.
“Doesn’t mean it’s not happening, I just don’t have anything to share,” Leavitt said.
“We’re praying for the millions of Christians around the world who love the pope and admired him this morning,” she added.
The White House on Monday morning also marked Francis’s death with a brief statement on X that included two images: one of the pope with Trump and another of Francis with Vice President Vance, which was taken on Sunday.
Vance met with the pope on Easter, the day before France died. Vance remarked on his visit this weekend, saying in a message Monday that the pontiff was “obviously very ill” but that he was happy to have met with him.
Francis had famously taken issue with Republicans’ handling of immigration, voicing the view of the Catholic Church that migrants should be welcomed and treated with dignity. He wrote a letter in February criticizing Trump’s mass deportation plans, arguing they leave people vulnerable and defenseless and called for laws to help the most marginalized.
He had also weighed in on the 2024 election, calling on American Catholics to choose the “lesser evil” of the candidates between Trump and former Vice President Harris.
Francis died Monday at his residence in the Vatican’s Casa Santa Marta after battling a long series of health complications stemming from a chronic lung disease.
