Vice President JD Vance delivered a powerful message ahead of Easter weekend.
“I’m grateful every day for this job, but particularly today where my official duties have brought me to Rome on Good Friday. I had a great meeting with Prime Minister Meloni and her team, and will head to church soon with my family in this beautiful city,” Vance wrote.
“I wish all Christians all over the world, but particularly those back home in the US, a blessed Good Friday. He died so that we might live,” Vance added.
Vance and his family will go to Italy at the end of Holy Week and through Easter to meet with a top Vatican official, according to a White House press release.
Vance, a convert to Catholicism, will meet with Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni during his visit to Rome, according to the statement. It is unclear whether Vance will meet with Pope Francis, who is currently recovering from a sickness that has kept him in the hospital for more than a month.
According to the press announcement, Vance will also visit India during the trip. In India, the vice president will meet with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He will travel to New Delhi, Jaipur, and Agra to participate in unspecified “engagements” at cultural sites.
Vice President JD Vance and the Second Family will travel to Italy and India from April 18 to April 24. The Vice President will discuss shared economic and geopolitical priorities with leaders in each country.
“Vice President JD Vance and the Second Family will travel to Italy and India from April 18 to April 24. The Vice President will discuss shared economic and geopolitical priorities with leaders in each country. In Rome, Italy, the Vice President will meet with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. The Vice President will also meet with Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin. In India, the Vice President will visit New Delhi, Jaipur, and Agra. The Vice President will hold meetings with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The Vice President and Second Family will also participate in engagements at cultural sites,” the White House said in a press release.
Vance last visited Europe in mid-February to speak at the Munich Security Conference in Germany, when he chastised numerous European governments for their lack of free speech and religious freedom.
After President Trump was reelected in November, Parolin wished him “great wisdom because this is the main virtue of rulers according to the Bible.”
“I believe that, above all, he has to work to be the president of the whole country and so overcome the polarization that has occurred, which can be very, very clearly felt at the moment,” Parolin said last November.
Parolin also expressed hope that Trump could be a force for peace in the world: “To end wars, a lot of humility is needed, a lot of willingness is needed. It really is necessary to seek the general interests of humanity rather than concentrate on particular interests.”
The Vatican and the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops have both condemned the Trump administration’s plans for mass deportations of illegal immigrants, as well as funding cuts to nongovernmental organizations that provide services to migrants in the United States and humanitarian organizations around the world.
The administration’s orders resulted in financial cuts for numerous Catholic organizations.