'May God rest his soul': JD Vance reacts to Pope Francis' death day after Vatican meeting
"I just learned of the passing of Pope Francis. My heart goes out to the millions of Christians all over the world who loved him," Vance said in a statement on X. "I was happy to see him yesterday, though he was obviously very ill."
Vance also said he would long remember the pope's homily during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, saying, "It was really quite beautiful."
"May God rest his soul," Vance said.
The vice president met with Pope Francis on Easter Sunday during his family's weekend visit to Vatican City. Vance, who has a home in East Walnut Hills, converted to Catholicism six years ago at a church in Greater Cincinnati.
'Make a mess' A Cincinnati priest reflects on his time in Rome with Pope Francis
The visit came amid disagreements between the pope and U.S. President Donald Trump's administration. According to USA TODAY, the pontiff had been critical of the administration's mass deportation of migrants and even disputed Vance's interpretation of theology.
The frail but determined Francis greeted thousands in St. Peter's Square after Easter Mass in his open-air popemobile, just five weeks after a hospital stay.
Vance's faith is strongly tied to Cincinnati. The Middletown native was raised nominally evangelical and explored atheism before converting to Catholicism in 2019 at St. Gertrude Priory, which is attached to a Dominican parish in Madeira, about 12 miles northeast of Cincinnati.
Vance told The American Conservative that as he became more interested in faith, Catholicism was the practice that appealed most to him "intellectually."
More: Cincinnati Catholic leaders remember Pope Francis as defender of 'those on the margins'
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: JD Vance reacts to Pope Francis' death day after Vatican meeting
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