Vice President JD Vance and Second Lady Usha Vance made headlines on Sunday as they met Pope Leo XIV during his inauguration mass at the Vatican. The moment was both diplomatically significant and quietly marked by past tensions between the two figures.
The meeting took place in St. Peter’s Square shortly after the mass ended. According to a spokesperson for the vice president, Vance and his wife greeted the new pontiff before departing the square. Vance and Pope Leo XIV exchanged handshakes and appeared to share a brief conversation. Usha Vance stood beside her husband wearing a traditional black lace veil.
Vice President Vance led the United States delegation to the ceremony. He was joined by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and his wife Jeanette Rubio. Vance’s attendance carried additional weight given his personal connection to the faith. He converted to Catholicism in 2019 and met with Pope Francis just weeks before the pope’s passing.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also attended the mass and greeted Pope Leo XIV afterward. The new pope has expressed interest in serving as a global peacemaker and recently offered to host Russian and Ukrainian leaders at the Vatican in an effort to broker a peace agreement amid the ongoing war.
While the greeting between Vance and the pope seemed warm and respectful it followed months of public criticism from Pope Leo XIV regarding the vice president’s views on immigration and Christian ethics.
In February Pope Leo XIV shared an opinion article on X that was highly critical of Vance’s stance. The headline read JD Vance is wrong Jesus does not ask us to rank our love for others. The piece pushed back against Vance’s previous comments suggesting Christians should prioritize love for family neighbors and citizens before showing concern for the rest of the world.
The pope also reposted another article titled Pope Francis’ letter JD Vance’s ordo amoris and what the Gospel asks of all of us on immigration. The message from the new pontiff was clear in his disagreement with Vance’s interpretation of Christian teachings.
Vance has faced growing criticism from within the Catholic community. Some argue that his rhetoric about migrants and prioritizing national loyalty conflicts with the universal love and compassion emphasized in the Gospel.
Despite the differences in belief the brief exchange between the vice president and Pope Leo XIV may indicate a shared commitment to open dialogue. While it remains to be seen whether deeper conversations will follow the handshake and smiles at the Vatican suggest that diplomacy and mutual respect still have a place even when views diverge.
As Pope Leo XIV begins his papacy and the United States prepares for a heated election cycle the interaction between a sitting vice president and the first American pope could mark the beginning of an important conversation about faith politics and moral leadership in a divided world.
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