JD Vance receives cold reception at Vatican after Pope Francis' criticism of Trump's immigration policies

VATICAN CITY, VATICAN: Vice President JD Vance has reportedly received an icy reception from Pope Francis during his recent visit to papal headquarters with his wife, Usha Vance. 

Pope Francis, after famously rebuking the Donald Trump administration’s stance on immigrant deportation back in February,  reportedly snubbed the vice president, who is a Catholic convert. 

Vance, 40, had a meeting with the Vatican secretary of state, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, and the foreign minister, Archbishop Peter Gallagher, on Saturday, April 19. Nevertheless, he had a brief audience with the Pope on Easter Sunday during an audience at Casa Santa Marta on April 20, 2025. 

JD Vance apparently snubbed by Pope Francis at Vatican

As reported by the Daily Mail, JD Vance's first two days at the Vatican went without meeting Pope Francis, who has seemingly restarted taking on some official duties after recovering from a bout of pneumonia. 

Following Vance’s meeting with the Vatican’s secretary of state, the Pontiff issued a statement noting good relationships between the two nations. However, the Pope also mentioned that there has been “an exchange of opinions” over international conflicts, migrants, and prisoners.

The vice president, his wife, and his three children attended the Good Friday service in St Peter's Basilica on Friday, April 18, following his official meeting with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.

The service was, however, not attended by the Pope, who is still recovering from pneumonia. 

On Sunday, nevertheless, the Pope met with Vance along with delegates in the Vatican City. 

JD Vance and Pope Francis previously locked horns over immigrant issues

While JD Vance met Pope Francis during his recent visit to the Vatican, they have been at loggerheads over immigration issues. 

While the Catholic head has taken a caring approach toward the migrants in his papacy, Vance, who converted in 2019, has taken a stricter approach, harmonious with the Republican Party’s philosophy. 

The vice president, who identifies with a small Catholic sect often called the 'postliberal', shares some major Catholic conservative views, including opposition to abortion and LGBTQ+ rights.

Back in February, just a few days before his hospitalization, the Pope shared a strongly worded message disapproving of the Trump administration’s take on immigration, as he criticized them for depriving the migrants of their inherent dignity. 

Vance has, however, defended the immigrants' crackdown undertaken by the Trump administration by citing a Catholic philosophy. Defending his government’s America First ideology to be following the medieval Catholic doctrine of “ordo amoris.”

According to the concept, he explained that there is a hierarchy of care, which appears to emphasize caring for the family first, followed by the neighbor, the community, fellow citizens, and lastly anyone else.  

Pope Francis sent a letter on February 10, where he appeared to remind the US bishops that Vance’s theory essentially did not align with the Christian ideology of love. 

Pope Francis wrote, “Christian love is not a concentric expansion of interests that little by little extends to other persons and groups.”

“The true ordo amoris that must be promoted is that which we discover by meditating constantly on the parable of the Good Samaritan, that is, by meditating on the love that builds a fraternity open to all, without exception,” he explained. 

As reported by the Daily Mail, the Vatican’s latest statement appeared to echo the same, as it reflected on Vance’s meeting with the Vatican’s second in command.

“There was an exchange of opinions on the international situation, especially regarding countries affected by war, political tensions and difficult humanitarian situations, with particular attention to migrants, refugees and prisoners,” read the statement. 

They continued, “Finally, hope was expressed for serene collaboration between the state and the Catholic Church in the United States, whose valuable service to the most vulnerable people was acknowledged.”

The outlet further revealed that the “serene collaboration” was apparently a reference to Vance's accusation that the US Conference of Catholic Bishops was resettling "illegal immigrants" in order to get federal funding, which was strenuously denied by the senior cardinals.