My heart goes out to millions of Christians who loved Pope Francis: US Vice President Vance

New Delhi: US Vice President JD Vance on Monday paid glowing tributes to Pope Francis and said his "heart goes out" to the millions of Christians who loved the pontiff.

Vance, who landed in Delhi with his family this morning on a four-day visit to India, had a private meeting with Francis at his Vatican residence and exchanged Easter greetings hours before his death.

In a social media post, Vance, a devout Catholic, said he was "happy to see" the Pope on Easter Sunday, "though he was obviously very ill". "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," Vance said.

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. But I’ll always remember him for the below homily he gave in the very early days…

— JD Vance (@JDVance) April 21, 2025

"I was happy to see him yesterday, though he was obviously very ill. But I'll always remember him for the below homily he gave in the very early days of COVID. It was really quite beautiful," he added.

Francis, who was the first non-European Pope in nearly 1,300 years, died on Easter Monday. He was 88.

The Pope was diagnosed for double pneumonia.

Vance visited Italy over the weekend before landing in India.