Pope Francis, 88, has died one day after greeting thousands in St. Peter’s Square after Easter Mass and meeting with VP JD Vance, offering him Easter eggs for his children.
Cardinal Kevin Farrell announced his death from the Vatican:
“Dearest brothers and sisters, with deep sorrow I must announce the death of our Holy Father Francis,” Farrel said in a statement on Vatican News. “At 7:35 this morning, the Bishop of Rome, Francis, returned to the house of the Father.”
Pope Francis was one of few world leaders who criticized both terms of the Trump presidency, explicitly calling his migration policies a “disgrace” and “not Christian.”
Pope Francis met briefly with Vance on Sunday and pleasantries were exchanged, but Francis’ official Easter speech later in the day seemed to rebuke the MAGA/Vance stance on immigrants and foreign aid: “How much contempt is stirred up at times towards the vulnerable, the marginalized and migrants,” Francis wrote in the address.
Sunday’s meeting was preceded on Saturday by the Pope’s number 2 meeting with Vance, calling for collaboration between the Trump White House and the Catholic Church.
The Pope said of the meeting with Vance that there had been “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.”
Vance did not acknowledge the Vatican’s attention to migration in the discussion, saying that the two discussed Trump’s “commitment to restoring world peace.”
