Day before he passed, Pope Francis inveighed against deportation to J.D. Vance

US vice president J.D. Vance met briefly with Pope Francis on 20 April, Sunday, to exchange Easter greetings, after they got into a long-distance tangle over the Trump administration's migrant deportation plans.

Francis, who passed away on Monday, was recovering from a bout of pneumonia when he received Vance in one of the reception rooms of the Vatican hotel — where he lived. The 88-year-old pope had offered the Catholic vice president three big chocolate Easter eggs for Vance's three young children, who did not attend, as well as a Vatican tie and rosaries.

“I know you have not been feeling great but it's good to see you in better health,” Vance had told the pope. “Thank you for seeing me.”

Vance's motorcade entered Vatican City through a side gate while Easter Mass was being celebrated in St Peter's Square. Francis had delegated the celebration of the Mass to another cardinal.

The Vatican said they met for a few minutes at the Domus Santa Marta “to exchange Easter greetings”.

Vance's office said the vice president “expressed his gratitude to Pope Francis for inviting him to meet on Easter Sunday and for the hospitality the Vatican has extended to his family”.

“I pray for you every day,” Vance said as he bid Francis farewell. “God bless you.”

In all, Vance's motorcade was on Vatican territory for 17 minutes. The vice president later joined his family for Easter Mass at St Paul Outside the Walls, one of the four pontifical basilicas in Rome. The Vances visited the tomb of the apostle St Paul that is said to be located there.

Vance, who converted to Catholicism in 2019, and the pope had tangled sharply over migration and the Trump administration's plans to deport migrants en masse. Francis had made caring for migrants a hallmark of his papacy.

Just days before he was hospitalised in February, Francis blasted the deportation plans, warning that they would deprive migrants of their inherent dignity. In a letter to the US bishops, Francis also appeared to respond to Vance directly for having claimed that Catholic doctrine justified such policies.

Vance had acknowledged Francis' criticism but had said he would continue to defend his views.

During a 28 February appearance at the National Catholic Prayer Breakfast in Washington, Vance didn't address the issue specifically but called himself a “baby Catholic” and acknowledged there are “things about the faith that I don't know”.

Vance met on Saturday, 19 April, with the Vatican secretary of state Cardinal Pietro Parolin and foreign minister Archbishop Paul Gallagher.

Vance's office said he and Parolin “discussed their shared religious faith, Catholicism in the United States, the plight of persecuted Christian communities around the world, and President Trump's commitment to restoring world peace”.

The Vatican, for its part, said there was an “exchange of opinions” including over migrants and refugees and current conflicts.

The Holy See has responded cautiously to the Trump administration while seeking to continue productive relations in keeping with its tradition of diplomatic neutrality.

It has expressed alarm over the administration's crackdown on migrants and cuts in international aid, while insisting on peaceful resolutions to the wars in Ukraine and Gaza.

Those concerns were reflected in the Vatican statement, which said the talks were cordial and that the Vatican expressed satisfaction with the administration's commitment to protecting freedom of religion and conscience.

“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,” the statement said. “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 reference to “serene collaboration” appeared to refer to Vance's assertion that the US Conference of Catholic Bishops was resettling “illegal immigrants” in order to get federal funding.

Top US cardinals have pushed back strongly against the claim.

“It is clear that the approach of the current US administration is very different from what we are used to and, especially in the West, from what we have relied on for many years,” Parolin told La Repubblica daily on the eve of Vance's visit.

As the US pushes to end the war in Ukraine, Parolin reaffirmed Kyiv's right to its territorial integrity and insisted that any peace deal must not be “imposed” on Ukraine but “is built patiently, day by day, with dialogue and mutual respect.”

Vance was spending Easter weekend in Rome with his family and attended Good Friday services in St Peter's Basilica after meeting with Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni.

On Saturday, after introducing his family to Parolin, the Vances got a private tour of the Sistine Chapel and later visited Rome's botanic garden, where one of his sons was seen in a plastic gladiator costume that is popular among Italian kids.

It wasn't immediately clear where they would celebrate Easter. Francis, for his part, indicated he hoped to attend Easter Mass that usually draws thousands to St Peter's Square, according to the official Mass booklet and liturgical plans released Saturday.

Papal rebuke on migration, appeal for prisoners

Francis' progressive views on social justice issues have often put him at odds with members of the more conservative US Catholic Church.

Francis also changed church teaching to say that capital punishment is inadmissible in all cases. After a public appeal from Francis just weeks before Trump took office, President Joe Biden commuted the sentences of 37 of the 40 people on federal death row.

Trump is an outspoken proponent of expanding capital punishment.

Vance, who converted to Catholicism in 2019, identifies with a small Catholic intellectual movement, viewed by some critics as having reactionary or authoritarian leanings, that is often called “postliberal.”

Postliberals share some longstanding Catholic conservative views, such as opposition to abortion and LGBTQ+ rights. They envision a counterrevolution in which they take over government bureaucracy and institutions like universities from within, replacing entrenched “elites” with their own and acting upon their vision of the “common good.”

A Latin concept of love

Vance had defended the administration's America-first crackdown by citing a concept from medieval Catholic theology known in Latin as ordo amoris — the ‘order of love’, the thus, purportedly, also of charity . He has said the concept delineates a hierarchy of care — to family first, followed by neighbour, community, fellow citizens and lastly those elsewhere.

In his 10 February letter, Francis appeared to correct Vance's understanding of the concept.

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