The White House on Thursday confirmed that the American delegation at the Sunday inaugural mass of the Pope Leo XIV. The Vatican will be led by the US Vice President JD Vance, AFP reported, TASR writes. Lion XIV. He is the first Pope of North American origin in the history of the Church. Vance, who converted to the Catholic faith in 2019, will join his wife USHA and Foreign Minister Marco Rubio on Sunday at the Vatican ceremony. While Rubio is also a Catholic, Usha Vance is Hindu, AFP added.
Lion XIV. was born in Chicago as Robert Francis Prevost and last week the Cardinals elected him as the leader of the Catholic Church, to which the world reports 1.4 billion people. The new Pope, before his appointment, criticized US President Donald Trump’s administration for its sharp rhetoric and uncompromising approach to immigration. Nevertheless, Trump and Vance welcomed the election of the Cardinal Pope.
AFP recalled that Vance was the last politician to meet the Vatican with Leo’s predecessor, Pope Francis. This admission took place the day before his death on April 21 at the age of 88.
