On Monday, April 21, the U.S. Vice President, 40, shared a statement on X (formerly known as Twitter) following the announcement of the pope’s death at the age of 88 on Easter Monday. “I just learned of the passing of Pope Francis.

The death of Francis, who was one of the oldest popes in the church’s history, came weeks after he was discharged from a Rome hospital having battled a life-threatening case of pneumonia in both lungs.