U.S. political leaders react to death of Pope Francis

By Kate Scanlon / OSV News

WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump, officials in his administration and other U.S. political leaders issued statements expressing condolences for Pope Francis after the pontiff’s death April 21 at age 88.

“Rest in Peace Pope Francis!” Trump wrote on his social media platform, Truth Social. “May God Bless him and all who loved him!”

The pontiff’s death followed his stay in Rome’s Gemelli hospital earlier this year while he recovered from respiratory infections. On Easter, the day before his death, Pope Francis gave his Easter blessing “urbi et orbi” (to the city and the world). He also held a brief meeting with U.S. Vice President JD Vance.

“I just learned of the passing of Pope Francis. My heart goes out to the millions of Christians all over the world who loved him,” Vance, a Catholic, wrote on the social media platform X on April 21. “I was happy to see him yesterday, though he was obviously very ill.”

Vance added he will always remember the “homily he gave in the very early days of COVID,” in reference to Pope Francis’ “urbi et orbi” blessing for the world at the onset of the pandemic in 2020.

“It was really quite beautiful,” Vance said. “May God rest his soul.”

During his first term, Trump met with the pontiff at the Vatican, telling him, “Thank you. Thank you. I won’t forget what you said,” after their private meeting.

Former President Joe Biden, the nation’s second Catholic president and a vocal admirer of Pope Francis, said in a statement on X, “Pope Francis will be remembered as one of the most consequential leaders of our time and I am better for having known him.”

“It is with great sadness that Jill and I learned of the passing of His Holiness Pope Francis,” Biden said, adding, “He was unlike any who came before him. For decades, he served the most vulnerable across Argentina and his mission of serving the poor never ceased.”

Among the final actions of his single term in the White House, Biden bestowed the Presidential Medal of Freedom with Distinction, the nation’s highest civilian honor, to Pope Francis.

“He commanded us to fight for peace and protect our planet from a climate crisis. He advocated for the voiceless and powerless,” Biden added. “He made all feel welcome and seen by the Church. He promoted equity and an end to poverty and suffering across the globe. And above all, he was a Pope for everyone. He was the People’s Pope – a light of faith, hope, and love.”

Pope Francis, formerly Argentine Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, was elected the Catholic Church’s 266th pope March 13, 2013, after the late Pope Benedict XVI announced his resignation.

Pope Francis made his first – and only – trip in his life to the United States in September 2015, meeting leaders and the faithful in Washington, New York and Philadelphia.

During his trip, on Sept. 24, 2015, Pope Francis became the first pope to address a joint meeting of the U.S. Congress, with then-Vice President Joe Biden and then-House Speaker John Boehner sitting behind him, members of different political parties but both Catholic.

During his remarks, Pope Francis called on the United States and its leaders to welcome immigrants and refugees, and encouraged the country to aspire to that greatness modeled by four leading Americans.

“A nation can be considered great when it defends liberty as (Abraham) Lincoln did, when it fosters a culture which enables people to “dream” of full rights for all their brothers and sisters, as Martin Luther King sought to do; when it strives for justice and the cause of the oppressed, as Dorothy Day did by her tireless work, the fruit of a faith which becomes dialogue and sows peace in the contemplative style of Thomas Merton,” he said.

Pope Francis told Congress that they have a “responsibility to protect and defend human life at every stage of its development,” a reference to abortion, noting that same conviction led him to also call for “the global abolition of the death penalty.”

Pope Francis was greeted by large and enthusiastic crowds during his visit, a trend then-President Barack Obama noted in remarks during the pontiff’s visit to the White House that year, calling the attendees at the event “just a small reflection of the deep devotion of some 70 million American Catholics.”

“I believe the excitement around your visit, Holy Father, must be attributed not only to your role as Pope, but to your unique qualities as a person,” Obama said at the time. “In your humility, your embrace of simplicity, in the gentleness of your words and the generosity of your spirit, we see a living example of Jesus’ teachings, a leader whose moral authority comes not just through words but also through deeds.”

Pope Francis was the third of just three popes in history to visit the White House, and the fourth to ever visit the United States.

In a post on X featuring a photo with Pope Francis at the White House, Obama said, “Pope Francis was the rare leader who made us want to be better people.”

“In his humility and his gestures at once simple and profound – embracing the sick, ministering to the homeless, washing the feet of young prisoners – he shook us out of our complacency and reminded us that we are all bound by moral obligations to God and one another,” he said. “Today, Michelle and I mourn with everyone around the world – Catholic and non-Catholic alike – who drew strength and inspiration from the Pope’s example. May we continue to heed his call to “never remain on the sidelines of this march of living hope.”

In a statement shared on X, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who is Catholic, said he and his wife, Jeanette, were saddened to hear of Pope Francis’ death.

“We unite in prayer with Catholics worldwide for the repose of the pontiff’s soul and for this period of transition for the Catholic Church. May He rest in peace,” Rubio said.

“The United States of America extends its deepest condolences to our friends and partners at the Holy See on the passing of His Holiness Pope Francis. Pope Francis has been a beacon of compassion, hope, and humility for Catholics worldwide,” the U.S. Embassy to the Holy See posted on X.