Vance’s motorcade remained in the Vatican for 17 minutes altogether, according to media reports.
On Saturday, Vance met with the Vatican’s top diplomat, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, amid friction between Washington and Pope Francis over U.S. President Donald Trump’s mass deportation policy.
“A cordial conversation took place” between the pontiff and Vance, the Vatican said in a statement.
“There was 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,” it said.
The pontiff in February penned a strongly worded letter to bishops in the United States expressing concern over Washington’s deportation efforts, calling on them to consider the “infinite and transcendent dignity of every human person” and issuing a reminder that Jesus Christ himself lived a life of exile.
The pope’s uncertain health is already raising questions and rumors over who will succeed him, with cardinals more divided than ever.
