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Vice President JD Vance broke his silence on the death of Pope Francis on Monday (April 21), hours after the two met briefly on Easter Sunday (April 20).
"I just learned of the passing of Pope Francis. My heart goes out to the millions of Christians all over the world who loved him. I was happy to see him yesterday, though he was obviously very ill. But I’ll always remember him for the below homily he gave in the very early days of COVID. It was really quite beautiful. May God rest his soul," Vance wrote on his X account.
Vance, 40, who converted to Catholicism in 2019, and Pope Francis, 88, spent several minutes together at the Domus Santa Marta "to exchange easter greetings," despite the pope's public disagreements on President Donald Trump's administration's planned mass deportation of migrants. Pope Francis, who has made caring for migrants a major focus of his papacy, warned that the Trump administration's forceful removal of migrants due to illegal status deprived them of their inherent dignity and would "end badly" and claimed nations have the right to defend themselves and keep their communities safe from criminals.
Pope Francis delegated the saying of Easter Mass to Cardinal Angelo Comastri, later being spotted taking the popemobile into St. Peter's Square for the first time since his diagnosis, which was met with "Viva il Papa" chants. The papal conclave, the election process to determine a new pope, typically lasts a few days, with Pope Francis having taken over for the resigning Pope Benedict XVI after just one day in 2013.
Cardinal Kevin Farrell announced Pope Francis' death in a text on Monday via Vatican News.
“Dearest brothers and sisters, with deep sorrow I must announce the death of our Holy Father Francis,” he wrote. "At 7:35 this morning, the Bishop of Rome, Francis, returned to the house of the Father. His entire life was dedicated to the service of the Lord and of His Church. He taught us to live the values of the Gospel with fidelity, courage, and universal love, especially in favor of the poorest and most marginalized. With immense gratitude for his example as a true disciple of the Lord Jesus, we commend the soul of Pope Francis to the infinite merciful love of the One and Triune God."
Pope Francis, born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, was admitted to the Agnostino Gemelli Polyclinic on February 14 after several days of suffering from bronchitis and his situation worsened as he was diagnosed with bilateral pneumonia on February 18. The pope was hospitalized for 38 days before returning to the Vatican to continue his recovery.
Pope Francis, a native of Buenos Aires, joined the Jesuits in 1958 and was ordained as a Catholic priest in 1969, serving as the Jesuit provincial superior in Argentina from 1973 to 1979 and later the archbishop of Buenos Aires in 1998, a cardinal in 2001.