WASHINGTON: The White House said Thursday that Vice President JD Vance will attend the inaugural mass of Pope Leo XIV, the first American pontiff -- who has criticized the administration on migration.
Vance, who converted to Catholicism in 2019, will be joined by his Hindu wife Usha Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who is Catholic, at the Vatican ceremony on Sunday.
Born in Chicago as Robert Francis Prevost, Leo was elected by fellow cardinals last week to lead the world's 1.4 billion Catholics, with many surprised at the choice of an American.
Pope Leo, prior to his elevation, criticized President Donald Trump's administration over its harsh rhetoric and approach to immigration.
Rubio, asked about the pontiff’s calls for compassion toward migrants, said: “I understand there’s this temptation to cover the papacy as a political office.”
“It is not a political office. It is a spiritual office,“ Rubio told reporters on a visit to Turkey.
“I would argue there’s nothing compassionate about mass migration. There’s nothing compassionate about open borders that allows people to be trafficked here,“ Rubio said.
“There’s nothing compassionate about either to the American people about flooding our country with individuals that are criminals and prey on our community,“ he said.
Statistics show that immigrants are in fact less likely to commit violent crimes, despite Trump's highlighting of high-profile cases.
Trump and Vance both welcomed the election of the pope, whose predecessor Francis was particularly outspoken on the rights of migrants.
“Congratulations to Leo XIV, the first American Pope, on his election! I’m sure millions of American Catholics and other Christians will pray for his successful work leading the Church. May God bless him!” Vance wrote on X after his election.
Vance visited the Vatican just weeks ago, meeting with Francis on Easter Sunday -- the day before his death on April 21 at the age of 88.
