Vice President JD Vance and his family didn’t spend Good Friday in Washington’s corridors of power—they were in the heart of Christendom, attending the Liturgy of the Lord’s Passion at St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. It was a powerful moment of faith for the second family, happening amid tense diplomatic meetings and sharp public criticism from Pope Francis over the Trump administration’s immigration policies.
Vance and his wife Usha, accompanied by their children, stood reverently during the solemn two-hour Mass commemorating Christ’s crucifixion, even as reporters noted the VP’s quiet efforts to keep his children settled during the Latin Passion readings. It was a striking image: America’s vice president immersed in faith, a moment far removed from the usual political theater back home.
But this wasn’t just a family pilgrimage. It was part of a weeklong mission to Italy, Vatican City, and India—blending diplomacy, religious engagement, and America First economic policy. Vance arrived in Rome Friday morning, just hours after meeting with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in Washington. Meloni, a staunch conservative, has become one of Trump’s closest allies in Europe. After her historic Oval Office visit with Trump on Thursday, she and Vance reunited in Rome. “I’ve been missing you,” Meloni joked, a telling sign of the growing transatlantic bond between populist governments.
While Vance prepares for high-level talks with the Vatican’s secretary of state, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, it remains uncertain whether he’ll meet Pope Francis directly—especially given the pontiff’s recent health struggles. The pope has been recovering from a long hospital stay and has delegated much of the Easter week liturgical activity.
That hasn’t stopped Francis from using his pen, however. In a sharply worded letter to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops earlier this year, the pope accused the Trump administration of conflating illegal immigration with criminality. He criticized Vance’s remarks that “love of neighbor begins at home” as lacking the “fraternity open to all” that he believes defines Christianity.
Of course, that’s not how Vice President Vance sees it. A convert to Catholicism himself, Vance addressed the pope’s criticism with grace and clarity during the National Catholic Prayer Breakfast in February. “I try to be humble when talking about the faith,” Vance said, noting that as a public servant, he sometimes gets pulled into theological disputes. But he stood firm on the administration’s priorities: securing the border, ending human trafficking, and restoring rule of law.
“The Christian duty to care for others doesn’t mean sacrificing your own children’s future,” Vance said. “It’s not un-Christian to demand orderly immigration or to protect your own people first. That’s not hate—it’s common sense.”
And while the Vatican may bristle at the administration’s bold immigration reforms, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops found common cause with Trump and Vance on other fronts—praising the administration’s clampdown on radical gender ideology and its aggressive defense of religious freedom.
In fact, Vance has made his Catholic faith central to his political identity. Before his vice-presidential debate last October, he revealed he prayed for humility and clarity. Since then, he’s attended Ash Wednesday services at the Texas border, celebrated Saint Patrick’s Day with his baptizing priest at the White House, and proudly announced his son’s baptism following Trump’s 2024 victory.
As the vice president tours the Eternal City and prepares to celebrate Easter Mass at the Vatican, he’s doing more than honoring tradition. He’s sending a message to the globalist elite—and perhaps to the Vatican itself—that American sovereignty, faith, and family are back at the center of U.S. leadership.
Trump’s vice president isn’t backing down, and neither is the movement they lead.
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.
— JD Vance (@JDVance) April 18, 2025
I wish all Christians…
