During his Easter weekend trip to the Vatican, Vance, his wife Usha, and their children attended Holy Week celebrations and met Pope Francis at Casa Santa Marta. The encounter, captured in a now widely shared video, shows Vance greeting the ailing pontiff, who, through a translator, presented gifts including chocolate eggs and rosaries. Tragically, just one day after their meeting, Pope Francis passed away at the age of 88 from a cerebral stroke. St. Peter’s Square soon filled with mourners, offering prayers,
rosaries, and even spontaneous applause to honor the Pope’s decade-long service. Despite months of battling pneumonia and fragile health, Francis had made a final public appearance blessing crowds on Easter Sunday — a farewell that only became clear in retrospect. As the world grieved, Vatican officials announced plans for the Pope’s funeral and allowed the faithful to pay respects inside St. Peter’s Basilica, closing a poignant chapter in the Church’s history.