Vance and Francis have publicly disagreed in recent months on immigration policies and other aspects of church teaching, so an Easter Sunday meeting with the pope, in what proved to be the final hours of his life,

The White House’s message was understated. The official X account posted: “Rest in Peace, Pope Francis,” and added photographs of his Sunday meeting with JD Vance, and older photos of the pontiff with President Donald Trump and his wife Melania.

The ailing pope’s decision to welcome the vice president seemed to highlight Francis’s sense of duty and care for others — a trait Vance himself had praised just weeks earlier.

Modi's office said the two leaders "welcomed the significant progress in the negotiations for a mutually beneficial India-U.S. Bilateral Trade Agreement."