Vatican City - Vice President JD Vance was unable to meet with the pope while on a visit to the Vatican on Saturday, but ended up having "an exchange of opinions" with a senior cardinal.

Francis skipped the meeting with JD Vance on Saturday, and sent Senior Cardinal Pietro Parolin, his second in command and the Vatican's Secretary of State, in his stead to receive US Vice President.

It is unclear why Pope Francis missed the meeting. On March 23, he returned to Vatican City after a month-long stay in the hospital, during which he was at one point placed on a ventilator.

Vance also participated in the Solemn Liturgy for the Lord's Passion on Good Friday evening in St. Peter's Basilica.

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What raised the most eyebrows, however, were the topics under discussion between Vance and Parolin, which covered more than Vatican-US relations.

"During the cordial talks," the Vatican said in a statement, "satisfaction was expressed for the good existing bilateral relations between the Holy See and the United States of America, and the common commitment to protect the right to freedom of religion and conscience was reiterated."

"There was an exchange of opinions on the international situation, especially regarding countries affected by war, political tensions and difficult humanitarian situations, with particular attention to migrants, refugees, and prisoners."

Vance, who was baptized into Catholicism in 2019, has faced criticism from Pope Francis and other members of the clergy over the Trump administration's mass deportation campaign.

"If it is true, it will be a disgrace," Francis said of the policy shortly before Trump's inauguration. "It makes the poor wretches who have nothing to pay the unpaid bill. It won’t do. This is not the way to solve things."

Parolin himself blasted Trump's ethnic cleansing plan for Gaza as making "no sense."

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"This is one of the fundamental points of the Holy See: no deportations," he said in February.

Vance issued a short statement on X after his visit, saying: "It was an honor to visit the Vatican during Holy Week, and a blessing to experience the beauty and reverence of the Good Friday liturgy at St. Peter's Basilica."