'May the Prince of Peace have mercy on us': Vance prays at site of Christ's death and resurrection

Vice President JD Vance visited the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem with his wife, Usha, on Thursday, attending a private Mass and praying at the site of Jesus Christ's crucifixion and empty tomb.

Vance, a convert to Catholicism whose wife is a Hindu, visited all of the sites within the sprawling basilica, including Golgotha, the "place of the skull" where Jesus was crucified; the Stone of Anointing, which is believed to be the limestone slab where Jesus' body was prepared for burial; and the Holy Sepulchre, Joseph of Arimathea's monument where Christ's body was interred prior to his resurrection.

'I think we're on a very good pathway.'

In addition to thanking the Franciscan monks who celebrated a private Mass for his family and for those Americans working for peace, Vance expressed gratitude to the Catholic, Greek, and Armenian priests who have long cared for the holy place, stating, "What an amazing blessing to have visited the site of Christ's death and resurrection."

Following an 4th-century investigation into the whereabouts of the site where Christ was crucified and buried, the Roman emperor Constantine settled on the current location — which had long been venerated by the early Christians — to erect a basilica.

Since Hadrian previously had the location strategically covered with pagan temples, Constantine had the pagan shrines toppled to make room for a basilica where the Church of the Holy Sepulchre — largely an 11th-century crusader reconstruction — now stands despite fires, Muslim attacks, and earthquakes.

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Photo by NATHAN HOWARD/POOL/AFP via Getty Images

At the Stone of Anointing, a bishop provided Vance on Thursday with a red pillow on which to kneel, and so he did, making the sign of the cross, placing his hand on the limestone slab, and bowing his head in silent prayer, according to a White House press report.

After Vance and his wife headed to the empty tomb, a bishop told the White House press pool that he was lighting two candles from the flame at the Holy Sepulchre to send back to the White House.

At one point during the tour of the church, Vance joked to a bishop, "You guys have been protecting me from bumping my head. You could join the Secret Service."

Photo by NATHAN HOWARD/POOL/AFP via Getty Images

Theophilos III, the patriarch of the Orthodox Church of Jerusalem, was among the Christian clergymen who greeted and accompanied the vice president.

According to the Jerusalem Patriarchate, Theophilos III "conveyed his respectful greetings to President Donald J. Trump and expressed his heartfelt appreciation for the efforts of the United States administration, under President Trump’s leadership, to bring about a ceasefire in Gaza and to alleviate the suffering of the innocent."

Days prior to his visit to the church, Vance told reporters, "I hope to go to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, which Christians believe is the site that Jesus Christ was crucified in. And I know that Christians have many titles for Jesus Christ, and one of them is the Prince of Peace. ... I'd ask all people of faith, in particular my fellow Christians, to pray that the Prince of Peace can continue to work a miracle in this region in the world."

After his visit to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Vance stated, "May the Prince of Peace have mercy on us, and bless our efforts for peace."

Keen on maintaining the fragile peace brokered by President Donald Trump in Gaza, Vance said on Thursday before leaving Israel that he was "insulted" by the 25-24 vote in the Knesset to annex the West Bank, stressing it was a "political stunt with no practical significance."

Despite the provocative vote, Vance thanked the Israeli government for hosting him and underscored, "I think we're on a very good pathway."

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