JD Vance has spoken about the timing of his meeting with Pope Francis, just hours before his death.
Branding it as 'pretty crazy', the US vice-president spoke with the late leader of the Catholic Church on Sunday (20 April) in a highly publicised meeting.
Pope Francis had been unwell for months before, and endured a five-week stay in hospital due to complications caused by double pneumonia.
The former leader of the Catholic Church was 88 years old at the time of his passing on the morning of Monday 21 April.
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Camerlengo Cardinal Kevin Ferrell announced his death in a statement: "Dearest brothers and sisters, with deep sorrow I must announce the death of our Holy Father Francis.
"At 7.35 this morning, the Bishop of Rome, Francis, returned to the home of the Father."
Vance has since spoken about the news with reporters, while preparing to leave following a trip to India.
The 40-year-old admitted: "I knew he was very ill. I didn't realize how sick he was."
He called the timing of the Pope's death on Easter Monday so soon after he had seen him 'pretty crazy', but said it was a 'blessing' to see the Holy Father.
"I thought a lot about that," he said of the timing, continuing: "I mean, it's pretty crazy, actually and obviously when I saw him, I didn't know he had less than 24 hours still on this Earth."
Vance admitted: "I try to just, you know, remember that I was lucky that I got to shake his hand and tell him that I pray for him every day."
It is reported by MailOnline that while the vice-president was raised Christian, became a secular atheist in college, and then converted to the Catholic Church in 2019.
Immediately following the Pope's death, world leaders paid tribute to the 88-year-old, who provided positive views on the environment and the queer community.
Vance took to X at the time, writing: "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."
He went on, mentioning a homily that the late Pope shared in the early stages of the Covid-19 pandemic, saying it was 'quite beautiful', before signing off: "May God rest his soul."
When it came to the differences that the Pope had with the Trump administration, Vance told reporters that he knew of his views, but that they also agreed on certain topics.
He explained: "I'm not going to soil the man's legacy by talking about politics, I think he was a great Christian pastor and that's how I choose to remember the Holy Father."
Topics: JD Vance, Pope Francis, World News, Religion
Joshua Nair