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. (snip)

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. (snip)

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

In all, Vance’s motorcade was on Vatican territory for 17 minutes. The vice president later joined his family for Easter Mass at St. Paul Outside the Walls, one of the four pontifical basilicas in Rome. The Vances visited the tomb of the apostle St. Paul that is said to be located there.

When Francis was elected in 2013, it was clear he would be an unconventional pope. He was more casual than his predecessors and often rejected the fineries of his office. In particular, he made a splash when, early on in his papacy, he responded to a question about gay priests by declaring, “Who am I to judge?”

Since then, Francis has moved to make the Catholic Church more welcoming to the LGBTQ+ community, including approving the blessing of same-sex couples and allowing transgender people to be baptized. At the same time, the church continues to argue that homosexuality is “intrinsically disordered” and that “sex-change intervention” could pose a threat to human dignity. In spite of this, Francis has begun to regularly invite transgender women, many of them current or former sex workers, to meet him at the Vatican.