US vice president meets Pope Francis, Vatican officials
On Easter Sunday, Pope Francis held a brief private meeting with US vice-president J.D. Vance at the Casa Santa Marta. Apr 25, 2025
VATICAN: On Easter Sunday, Pope Francis held a brief private meeting with US vice-president J.D. Vance at the Casa Santa Marta.According to the Holy See Press Office, the meeting lasted only a few minutes and provided the opportunity to exchange Easter greetings in a warm and cordial tone. During the brief encounter, the Pope presented Vance with several gifts, including a Vatican tie, a red rosary for the vice president, white rosaries for his children, and a separate white rosary for his wife. The family also received a set of three large chocolate Easter eggs.The visit followed a formal meeting the day prior between Vice President Vance and Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican Secretary of State, along with Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, Secretary for Relations with States and International Organisations. In that meeting, the parties discussed the international landscape, focusing on the defence of religious freedom and freedom of conscience, as well as humanitarian concerns including migration, the plight of refugees, and the treatment of prisoners in war-torn regions.Both sides affirmed their shared commitment to promoting human dignity and continuing positive collaboration between the US government and the Catholic Church in America.
As part of his visit to Rome, Vice President Vance attended the Celebration of the Lord's Passion on Good Friday evening at St Peter's Basilica with his wife and three children. --Agencies
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Star
12 hours ago
- The Star
Pope Leo, from Chicago, makes his first US pitch at White Sox Park
CHICAGO (Reuters) -Pope Leo, a native of Chicago's south side and a long-time fan of his beloved but beleaguered White Sox, sent a video message on Saturday to a sellout crowd attending Catholic Mass in his honor at their hometown ballpark. The pontiff, the first leader of the global Catholic Church from the United States, appeared for about seven minutes on Rate Field's jumbotron during the event, organized by the Chicago archdiocese and featuring several other local personalities, including Bulls announcer Chuck Swirsky. "It's a pleasure for me to greet all of you gathered together at White Sox Park on this great celebration," the pope said in the video message, his first public address to the his election on May 8 to replace the late Pope Francis. The new pope called on Chicagoans to put aside "egotistical ways" in order to spread hope and work to build community in their hometown. "We have to look for ways of coming together and promoting a message of hope," he said, speaking in English with a slight Chicago accent. Hours before the event at Rate Field started, people had gathered around the stadium, including kids in White Sox jerseys, hawkers selling "Da Pope" baseball hats, nuns in white and blue habits and priests in their collars. Saturday's event, led by Chicago Cardinal Blase Cupich, took place as demonstrations were held in cities across the U.S., including at Chicago's Daley Plaza, to protest President Donald Trump's crackdown on undocumented immigrants, and in Washington, D.C., ahead of the president celebrating his 79th birthday with a military parade. The pope did not mention politics, and instead offered a message of encouragement to young people. Sister Barbara Reid, president of the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago, where the pope attended seminary in the 1980s, told Reuters she hoped his message could help unite the U.S. "A celebration that's centered on hope and possibility and unity is needed now more than ever before," she said. "Hopefully this can be a catalyst to bring us together." Leo, the former Cardinal Robert Prevost, was born in Dolton, on the outskirts of the city's south side, and has spent most of his career as a priest outside the U.S. He is a member of the Augustinian religious order, and spent decades in Peru as a missionary and bishop, before first taking up a senior Vatican role in 2023. In a nod to Leo's close ties to the South American country, his celebration in Chicago on Saturday began with a performance of Peru's national anthem. The U.S. national anthem followed, performed by Leo High School's choir, which was a contestant on "America's Got Talent." The pope's family, including a brother who still lives in a Chicago suburb, has spoken about the pontiff's enthusiasm for the White Sox, even as the rival Chicago Cubs also tried to claim him. Leo briefly donned the trademark black-and-white Sox cap offered by a pilgrim during his weekly audience in St. Peter's Square on Wednesday. TICKETS RESELL FOR MORE THAN $1,200 On the first day that tickets became available for Saturday's event, more than 10,000 tickets were sold in the first 15 minutes, the White Sox said. Tickets, which sold for $5 apiece, hit resale sites like StubHub for more than $1,200 just hours after they were released, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. While Catholic parishes across the city, including the one where the Prevost family attended Mass, have shuttered amid waning church attendance, Chicago's identity is still very much entwined with the Catholic Church. When meeting strangers, Chicagoans sometimes identify their neighborhood by the name of the closest parish. "A lot of people in Chicago just have great pride that the new pope is from Chicago," said Rev. Tom McCarthy, a popular preacher from the city who is also an Augustinian. "They want to celebrate it together." The White Sox (39-121) set the modern-day record for most losses in a single season in 2024. This year, the team has the worst record in the American League so far. Fans pray the Mass gives the team a divine boost. "We need all the help we can get," said McCarthy, a lifelong Sox fan. "If the field is going to be blessed by this event, hopefully it will go right through to the players." (Reporting by Tom Polansek and Joshua McElwee, additional reporting by Emily Schmall in Chicago, Editing by Emily Schmall and Deepa Babington)
The Sun
3 days ago
- The Sun
First China bishop appointed under Pope Leo
Vatican City: The Vatican announced Wednesday the first appointment of a Chinese bishop under Leo XIV, signalling the new pope's support for a controversial accord on nominations struck by his predecessor with Beijing. The Holy See expressed "satisfaction" at the recognition by China of the appointment of Joseph Lin Yuntuan as auxiliary bishop of Fuzhou, capital of the southeastern Fujian province. The pope made the nomination on June 5. "This event represents further fruit of the dialogue between the Holy See and the Chinese authorities and is an important step in the communal journey of the diocese," it said in a statement. The Vatican and China's Communist leadership do not have formal diplomatic relations, as the Holy See recognises Taiwan while Beijing claims the self-ruled island as its own territory. But in a historic deal, they agreed in 2018 to allow both sides a say in the naming of bishops in China, which has about 12 million Catholics. The deal -- whose text has never been made public -- has drawn criticism within the Church, with some seeing it as allowing the Communist government a stranglehold over the country's Catholics. Yet as Pope Francis sought to make inroads for the Church in China, the deal was renewed several times, most recently in October 2024, for four years. Francis died on April 21 after 12 years as head of the world's 1.4 billion Catholics, and Leo was elected in a conclave of cardinals on May 8. Between the death of one pope and the naming of another, Beijing proceeded with the "election" of two bishops in the dioceses of Shanghai and Xinxiang. Commentators have viewed that move as an attempt by the Chinese Communist Party to take advantage of the institutional vacuum in the Vatican to assert its authority over the Church in China.
The Sun
3 days ago
- The Sun
Vatican announces its first Chinese bishop under Leo XIV
Vatican City: The Vatican announced Wednesday the first appointment of a Chinese bishop under Leo XIV, signalling the new pope's support for a controversial accord on nominations struck by his predecessor with Beijing. The Holy See expressed "satisfaction" at the recognition by China of the appointment of Joseph Lin Yuntuan as auxiliary bishop of Fuzhou, capital of the southeastern Fujian province. The pope made the nomination on June 5. "This event represents further fruit of the dialogue between the Holy See and the Chinese authorities and is an important step in the communal journey of the diocese," it said in a statement. The Vatican and China's Communist leadership do not have formal diplomatic relations, as the Holy See recognises Taiwan while Beijing claims the self-ruled island as its own territory. But in a historic deal, they agreed in 2018 to allow both sides a say in the naming of bishops in China, which has about 12 million Catholics. The deal -- whose text has never been made public -- has drawn criticism within the Church, with some seeing it as allowing the Communist government a stranglehold over the country's Catholics. Yet as Pope Francis sought to make inroads for the Church in China, the deal was renewed several times, most recently in October 2024, for four years. Francis died on April 21 after 12 years as head of the world's 1.4 billion Catholics, and Leo was elected in a conclave of cardinals on May 8. Between the death of one pope and the naming of another, Beijing proceeded with the "election" of two bishops in the dioceses of Shanghai and Xinxiang. Commentators have viewed that move as an attempt by the Chinese Communist Party to take advantage of the institutional vacuum in the Vatican to assert its authority over the Church in China.
