The practicing Catholic also participated in a Good Friday service at St. Peter’s Basilica.
Vice President JD Vance continued bilateral discussions with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on April 18 in Rome, kicking off a diplomatic trip to both Italy and Vatican City that will run through Easter Sunday.
“We have a couple of important issues to discuss today,” Vance said before their meeting. ”I want to update the prime minister on some of the negotiations between Russia, Ukraine, and also some of the things that have happened even in the past 24 hours. We think we have some interesting things to report on, of course, in private.”
Economics and trade were also scheduled discussion points, continuing from Meloni’s visit to the White House on April 17, as leaders work to ensure fair and reciprocal trade deals with both Italy and the entire European Union. The meetings included Deputy Prime Ministers of Italy, Matteo Salvini and Antonio Tajani.
“We think Italy can be a reliable and serious partner in Europe, in the Mediterranean, in the Mediterranean area, and so we are proud to have this special relationship with us and with this administration,” Meloni said on April 18.
However, Vance is also using his trip to highlight the cultural and religious ties between the United States and Italy.
The practicing Catholic attended a Good Friday service at St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City with his wife and three children.
In her opening remarks before the bilateral meeting, Meloni said she was proud that the second family would be spending Easter in Rome.
“I’m grateful every day for this job, but particularly today where my official duties have brought me to Rome on Good Friday,” the vice president wrote on X after the two-hour Latin service. “I had a great meeting with Prime Minister Meloni and her team, and will head to church soon with my family in this beautiful city.
By T.J. Muscaro
