Report: Vice President JD Vance intends to visit Rome during Easter

U.S. Vice President JD Vance waves to the crowd at the 2025 National Catholic Prayer Breakfast. / Credit: EWTN News/Screenshot

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Apr 1, 2025 / 16:49 pm (CNA).

U.S. Vice President JD Vance intends to visit Rome during Easter weekend, although the planned trip has not yet been finalized, according to Bloomberg News.

Bloomberg reported Tuesday that the vice president plans to arrive in Rome on Good Friday, April 18, and depart from the city on Easter Sunday, April 20. The news outlet stated that it had viewed correspondence confirming the intended visit but that an official informed them the plans could change.

According to the article, diplomats for the United States sought to coordinate a meeting between Vance and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, but no meeting had been scheduled by the time of publication.

It’s unclear whether the potential visit is intended to correspond with Easter weekend or whether that is coincidental. It’s also not known whether Vance, who is a convert to Catholicism, plans to visit the Holy See or other holy sites in the area if the three-day trip takes place.

Vance last traveled to Europe in mid-February to address the Munich Security Conference in Germany. 

During his previous visit to the region, the vice president chastised leaders of the continent’s countries for policies that permit mass migration waves as well as laws that restrict free speech and religious freedom.

Vance was critical of arrests in the United Kingdom for silent prayer near abortion clinics and the Scottish “safe access zones” law that bans religious preaching within 200 meters (about 650 feet) of an abortion clinic.

The vice president subsequently faced public criticism from numerous European politicians but received a more favorable response from Meloni, who last week told the Financial Times that the criticism was directed at Europe’s “ruling class” and not its people.

“I have to say I agree [with Vance],” Meloni said, according to the article. “I’ve been saying this for years … Europe has a bit lost itself.”

Vance’s prospective visit to Europe would come shortly after President Donald Trump’s new tariffs will go into effect against the European Union, of which Italy is a member. Trump imposed tariffs on products from Europe and other parts of the world in March, but more tariffs are set to go into effect on April 2.

President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen said this week that she has a “strong plan to retaliate” against the U.S. tariffs if it becomes necessary.