Pope holds brief meeting with JD Vance on Easter Sunday

US Vice President JD Vance met with Pope Francis at the Casa Santa Marta, where the pontiff is recovering from double pneumonia after his 38-day hospital stay.

Sources at the Vatican said that Easter greetings were exchanged during the meeting, which lasted a few minutes. The meeting was a rapprochement between the Trump administration and the Vatican, after Pope Francis repeatedly criticised the US administration's tough immigration policies.

Vance's Rome visit

Vance, who is visiting Rome with his family for Easter, met with senior Vatican officials on Saturday, including Secretary of State Pietro Parolin and Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, Secretary for Relations with States and International Organisations.

According to sources at the Vatican, both parties welcomed the good bilateral relations between the Vatican and the United States, and reiterated a common commitment to protecting the right to religious freedom and freedom of conscience.

There was also reportedly an exchange of views on the international situation, especially regarding countries marked by war, political tensions and humanitarian crises, with particular attention to migrants, refugees and prisoners and other topics of common interest.

On Friday, the US Vice President met with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni at Palazzo Chigi to discuss US-Italian relations, as well as trade negotiations with the European Union.