Vásquez was most recently selected by Francis to oversee the Diocese of Tyler, also in Texas, after he dismissed its former bishop, Joseph Strickland, who had openly accused the pope of being a heretic and called into question the validity of his leadership.

It’s also a topic which resonates personally with Francis. In his new autobiography, the Pope recalled how his paternal grandparents and father had planned to sail in 1927 on the Principessa Mafalda from Italy to Argentina, which sank with the loss of many lives, but ended up making a later crossing.

Pope Francis on Sunday criticized President-elect Donald Trump's reported plan to sharply intensify immigration enforcement actions across the U.S. in the days after his inauguration.

The pope’s comments provided the latest indication of a potential rekindling of frictions between the Vatican and the next Trump White House.

ROME (AP) — Pope Francis said Donald Trump’s plans to impose mass deportations of immigrants would be a “disgrace,” as he weighed in on the incoming U.S. president’s pledges nearly a decade after calling him “not Christian” for wanting to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexican border.

Pope Francis said Donald Trump’s plans to impose mass deportations of immigrants would be a “disgrace,” as he weighed in on the incoming U.S. president’s pledges nearly a decade after calling

After the pope criticized Trump's deportation plans, MAGA figures have suggested deporting illegal migrants to Vatican City.