A day before his final public appearance on Easter Sunday, when he greeted the crowd and wished them Happy Easter, Pope Francis welcomed Vice President JD Vance into his Vatican Home.
Allegedly, during the meeting, which lasted for just a couple of minutes, Vance had broken a cardinal rule.
Vance was spending a weekend with his family in Vatican City and was reportedly snubbed by the pope on Saturday, leaving him to meet Vatican’s secretary of state, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, and foreign minister, Archbishop Paul Gallagher.
The office of the vice president, who converted to Catholicism in 2019, reported that Vance and Parolin “discussed their shared religious faith, Catholicism in the United States, the plight of persecuted Christian communities around the world, and President Trump’s commitment to restoring world peace.”
According to the Vatican News, however, the two had “an exchange of opinions on the international situation, especially regarding countries affected by war, political tensions and difficult humanitarian situations, with particular attention to migrants, refugees, and prisoners.”
During the brief meeting between Vance and the pope, they exchanged Easter greetings, and Vance was given three large chocolate Easter eggs for his three children, a Vatican tie, and rosaries.
Vance reportedly told Pope Francis that was aware of his declining health and that he prayed for him.
In a post on X, Vance shared photos of himself and the pope along with the caption, “Today I met with the Holy Father Pope Francis. I am grateful for his invitation to meet, and I pray for his good health. Happy Easter!”
While the brief meeting ended well, it was Vance’s visit of the Sistine Chapel that sparked public outrage.
Namely, photographer Emily Higgins posted a photo of Vince and his family from inside the Sistine Chapel. It was captioned, “An epic shot of Vice President JD Vance and his son inside the Sistine Chapel. What an incredible way to spend Easter weekend.”
Rest in Peace, Pope Francis. ✝️ pic.twitter.com/8CGwKaNnTh
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) April 21, 2025
It wasn’t long before a number of people noted that “You do NOT take pictures in the Sistine Chapel. No respect.”
Someone commented, “To take photos in the Sistine Chapel is strictly forbidden! Every true Catholic knows this. This picture shows what’s wrong: Rules are only to be followed by others but not the American government – utterly despicable!”
Another person wrote, “Not allowed to take photos in the Sistine Chapel. Even in something so basic, they think the rules don’t apply to them.”
However, there were also those who defended JD Vance and his mistake during the Vatican visit.
“Wrong,” one person commented on the comments of Vance showing disrespect.
“Not only did the Vatican explicitly grant permission for the VP’s team to photograph their visit, the Vatican itself released video of their tour. They did the same for other official state visits including Michelle Obama’s visit in 2009,” the person commented.
An epic shot of Vice President JD Vance and his son inside the Sistine Chapel. What an incredible way to spend Easter weekend. pic.twitter.com/HldQVtcN93
— Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) April 20, 2025
The Vatican Museum explains that “it is permitted to take photographs, for personal and domestic use only, of the works in all areas of the Vatican Museums, apart from the Sistine Chapel. Flash photography is strictly forbidden.”
The warning continues, “In the Sistine Chapel it is forbidden to take photographs or films with any type of electronic equipment.”
Following Pope Francis’ passing, Vance expressed his condolences through a post on the social media.
“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.
“I was happy to see him yesterday, though he was obviously very ill. But I’ll always remember him for the below homily he gave in the very early days of COVID. It was really quite beautiful. May God rest his soul.”
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