Pope Francis, who is recovering from a severe bout of pneumonia, marked Easter Sunday by making a brief appearance to bless thousands of people who had gathered for mass in St Peter’s Square, and by holding a short meeting with the US vice-president, JD Vance.
The 88-year-old pontiff – who nearly died during his recent, five-week stay at Rome’s Gemelli hospital – did not celebrate Easter Sunday mass in the piazza, instead delegating the service to Cardinal Angelo Comastri, the retired archpriest of St Peter’s Basilica.
The pope has made only a handful of public appearances after leaving hospital and returning to the Vatican on 23 March. He skipped the solemn services of Good Friday and Holy Saturday leading up to Easter, but had been expected to make an appearance on Sunday to celebrate the most important day in the Christian calendar.
In accordance with his doctors’ orders for two months of convalescence and respiratory therapy to improve his lung function, the pope has cut back his workload.
He did, however, find time on Sunday to meet Vance, who had had “an exchange of opinions” with the Vatican’s secretary of state over international conflicts and immigration when they met a day earlier.
Vance, who converted to Catholicism in 2019, has in the past tangled with the pope over immigration and Donald Trump’s plans to deport people en masse. Francis has made caring for those who migrate a hallmark of his papacy and his progressive views on social justice issues have often put him at odds with members of the more conservative US Catholic church.
According to a short statement from the Vatican, Vance met Francis at his residence for a few moments on Sunday morning “to exchange Easter greetings”.
