Vice President J.D. Vance acknowledged Pope Francis’ displeasure with the Trump administration’s immigration policy and led a prayer for the ailing pontiff Friday at the National Catholic Prayer Breakfast.

Vance, a Catholic convert, spoke Friday Catholic Prayer Breakfast in Washington. He sought to downplay the controversy and said he and his family pray daily for Pope Francis during the 88-year-old pontiff’s hospitalization for pneumonia and other health troubles.

Vice President JD Vance acknowledged the pope's criticism of the Trump administration’s crackdown, without responding to any of its specifics or to the pontiff’s apparent criticism of Vance’s own deployment of Catholic tradition to justify such policies.

President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance clash with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House in Washington on Feb. 28, 2025.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky went to the White House to meet with President Donald Trumpand Vice President J.D. Vanceto try to strike a deal for peace between Ukraine and Russia — but it ended in a screaming match.