VATICAN CITY — U.S. Vice President JD Vance met briefly with Pope Francis on Sunday to exchange Easter greetings, after they got into a long-distance tangle over the Trump administration’s migrant deportation plans.

Francis, who is recovering from a near-fatal bout of pneumonia, received Vance in one of the reception rooms of the Vatican hotel where he lives. The 88-year-old pope offered the Catholic vice president three big chocolate Easter eggs for Vance’s three young children, who did not attend, as well as a Vatican tie and rosaries.

“I know you have not been feeling great but it’s good to see you in better health,” Vance told the pope. “Thank you for seeing me.”

Vance’s motorcade entered Vatican City through a side gate while Easter Mass was being celebrated in St. Peter’s Square. Francis had delegated the celebration of the Mass to another cardinal.

The Vatican said they met for a few minutes at the Domus Santa Marta “to exchange Easter greetings.”

Vance’s office said the vice president “expressed his gratitude to Pope Francis for inviting him to meet on Easter Sunday and for the hospitality the Vatican has extended to his family.”

“I pray for you every day,” Vance said as he bid Francis farewell. “God bless you.”

Vance, who converted to Catholicism in 2019, and the pope have tangled sharply over migration and the Trump administration’s plans to deport migrants en masse. Francis has made caring for migrants a hallmark of his

papacy.