JD Vance reacted to being one of the last people to meet Pope Francis before he died aged 88 on Easter Monday.
The vice president spoke with the pontiff at the Vatican one day before his death.
Mr Vance labelled Pope Francis “a great Christian pastor” in remarks to the media as he left Agra, India on Wednesday.
He downplayed disagreements between Pope Francis and the Trump administration, insisting that he would not “soil the the man’s legacy by talking about politics.”