Just hours before delivering his final Easter message and passing away, Pope Francis met privately with Vice President JD Vance, spoke of global peace, and brought renewed hope to thousands in St. Peter’s Square.
In what has now become a poignant final chapter of his papacy, Pope Francis met with U.S. Vice President JD Vance just hours before delivering his last public message—a powerful Easter blessing that called for peace in Gaza, Ukraine, and beyond.
The vice president met the pontiff privately at Domus Santa Marta, the Vatican guesthouse where Francis resided. “I know you have not been feeling great, but it’s good to see you in better health,” Vance said during their quiet exchange. “Thank you for seeing me.”
The two exchanged Easter greetings in what would become the Pope’s final audience with a world leader.
Later that day, on Easter Sunday, April 20, 2025, Pope Francis made an unexpected public appearance from the central loggia of St. Peter’s Basilica. Seated beside a clergy member who read his Easter message on his behalf, the Pope waved to the crowd and delivered a heartfelt “Dear brothers and sisters, Happy Easter!” His voice, though frail in recent weeks, rang stronger than expected following his release from the hospital on March 23, where he had been treated for pneumonia.
He also toured St. Peter’s Square in his popemobile, greeted by roaring cheers from pilgrims and tourists alike—an emotional farewell to a pontiff who had long championed the marginalized and peacemaking in a fractured world.
His Urbi et Orbi blessing, Latin for “to the city and to the world,” included impassioned calls for an end to global violence.
“There can be no peace without freedom of religion, freedom of thought, freedom of expression, and respect for the views of others,” his statement read. “What a great thirst for death, for killing, we see in the many conflicts raging in different parts of the world.”
Addressing the devastation in Gaza, he decried the humanitarian toll of Israel’s war, calling it a “deplorable humanitarian situation.” On Ukraine, he offered a fervent plea: “May the risen Christ grant Ukraine, devastated by war, his Easter gift of peace, and encourage all parties involved to pursue efforts aimed at achieving a just and lasting peace.”
In hindsight, the day’s events—an intimate diplomatic farewell, a message of global unity, and the final wave to the faithful—marked not only the end of Holy Week but the closing scene of Pope Francis’ decade-long journey as the leader of the Catholic Church.
