Rome [Italy], April 19 : US Vice President JD Vance attended a Good Friday service at St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, Italy, as part of his Easter weekend visit. He is scheduled to meet Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican's Secretary of State, on Saturday, according to Politico.
Vance, who is the highest-ranking Catholic in the US government, travelled to Rome on Friday. Earlier in the day, he met Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, a day after she met with former US President Donald Trump at the White House.
This visit comes amid tensions between the US administration and the Catholic Church over the Trump administration's strict immigration policies, Politico reported.
Vance's visit to the Vatican during one of the holiest periods in the Christian calendar comes amid his ongoing disagreement with Pope Francis and follows his critical comments about Europe.
https://x.com/JDVance/status/1913232585334931469
Following his visit, Vance shared a post on the social media platform X, wishing Christians around the world a blessed Good Friday.
"I'm grateful every day for this job, but particularly today, where my official duties have brought me to Rome on Good Friday. I had a great meeting with Prime Minister Meloni and her team, and will head to church soon with my family in this beautiful city," the post read.
"I wish all Christians all over the world, but particularly those back home in the US, a blessed Good Friday," it added.
According to Politico, the US administration has clashed with the Church several times in recent months over tough immigration policies and nationalist rhetoric, which contrast with Pope Francis's more progressive and pro-immigrant views.
Tensions reached a high point in February, when Pope Francis sent a rare letter to American bishops, criticising the US government's mass deportation plans and challenging Vance's interpretation of a medieval theological concept.
"Vice President Vance looks forward to meeting with Prime Minister Meloni and Church officials while in Italy and is grateful for the opportunity to visit some of Rome's amazing cultural and religious sites with his family during Holy Week," Vance's spokesperson, Taylor Van Kirk, said in a statement before the vice president's departure.