() Vice President JD Vance and the White House shared condolences Monday following the death of Pope Francis, 88.

“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 wrote on X on Monday. “I was happy to see him yesterday, though he was obviously very ill. But I’ll always remember him for the below homily he gave in the very early days of COVID. It was really quite beautiful. May God rest his soul.”

Francis, the 266th head of the Catholic Church, was hospitalized in February, staying five weeks with double pneumonia that required high flows of oxygen and blood transfusions.

Vance, a Catholic convert, met with Francis briefly on Easter Sunday, a day before his passing. The Vatican said the encounter lasted just a few minutes and was designed to allow for an exchange of Easter greetings.

The White House also posted an undated photo to X of President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump with Francis and a recent photo of Vance and Francis shaking hands. The photos were captioned, “Rest in Peace, Pope Francis.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.