Vice President JD Vance said it was a “blessing” to be one of the last people to see Pope Francis alive while chiding the media for questioning him over Francis’s immigration views.
“I’ve thought a lot about that,” Vance said. “It’s pretty crazy, actually. Obviously, when I saw him, I didn’t know that he had less than 24 hours still on this Earth. I think it was a great blessing. But, you know, I think he saw a lot of people. I think he affected a lot of lives.”
Vance, who is a Catholic convert, met briefly with Francis at the Vatican on Easter Sunday. Francis died early Monday morning, making Vance one of the last people to see him alive.
“I try to just remember that I was lucky that I got to shake his hand and tell him that I pray for him every day, because I did, and I do,” Vance said while speaking to the media in Agra, India.
Despite the warm words, Vance and Francis have not always seen eye to eye on political matters, especially on the hot-button topic of illegal immigration.
Francis criticized the Trump administration in February over its actions to arrest and deport illegal immigrants, saying it would “end badly.”
Vance also said the Catholic Church was “worried about their bottom line” after criticizing Trump’s immigration policy. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops countered that it spent more money than it received for providing services to migrants.
However, when asked about those matters in the wake of Francis’s death, Vance said now is not the time.
“In his final Easter message that the archbishop read in St. Peter’s Square, he talked about not stirring up contempt against the vulnerable and migrants, and the logic of fear not being something world leaders should yield to. Do you have any thoughts on that, and has his death caused you at all to reflect on the policies of the Trump administration?” a reporter asked Vance.
Vance took umbrage with the premise of the question.
“A lot of people, especially in the American press, want to make the Holy Father, his entire legacy, and even his death, about American politics,” Vance said. “He was obviously a much broader figure than the United States of America.”
The vice president added that he was “aware” that Francis disagreed with the Trump administration. However, he said they agreed on other matters and that he would not “soil the man’s legacy” by talking about politics.
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Vance declined to share any thoughts on who he would like to see become the next pope. He also did not say whether he would attend Francis’s funeral, which will be held in Rome.
President Donald Trump announced he would attend the funeral with first lady Melania Trump and ordered flags to be flown at half-staff in Francis’s honor.
