Pope Leo XIV fans are nervously joking ahead of JD Vance‘s return to the Vatican for the new pontiff’s inauguration mass.
It was confirmed by Bloomberg that the vice president, who is Catholic, will be attending the first American pope’s mass on Sunday.
Second Lady Usha Vance is expected to travel with him for the historic event.
Despite being the America’s highest-ranking Catholic in government, pope fans are slightly nervous about Vance’s return to Italy after Pope Francis died following the meeting with the politician.
‘Uh oh, remember what happened the last time he visited a pope?’ one X user joked.
‘RIP Leo,’ another wrote.
‘This pontificate will not last long,’ a third said.
Another joked if Leo met an early death after being in Vance’s presence, it would be ‘more than just a coincidence…’
Pope Leo XIV fans are nervously joking ahead of JD Vance ‘s return to the Vatican for the new pontiff’s inauguration mass
It was confirmed by Bloomberg that the vice president (pictured with his son in Italy), who is Catholic, will be attending the first American pope’s mass on Sunday
Vance briefly met with Pope Francis in April the day before he died
‘If [I] were pope, or a terminally ill person, I’d steer clear of Donald Trump and JD Vance!’ a fifth joked on the platform.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who is also Catholic, will also attend the inauguration services.
Vance briefly met with Pope Francis in April the day before he died.
The politician was initially not able to meet with Pope Francis during his visit to the Vatican last month, as he was still ill.
Vance, a Catholic convert, instead met with the Vatican secretary of state, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, and the foreign minister, Archbishop Peter Gallagher.
He eventually did get the chance to meet with the late pope, who had just begun resuming some official duties during his recovery from pneumonia.
They had an awkward exchange at the Vatican on Easter Sunday after the 88-year-old Pontiff slammed the Trump administration’s treatment of illegal migrants.
Vance later sparked more backlash after snapping a picture with his son inside the Sistine Chapel over Easter weekend.
Vance and Pope Francis had an awkward exchange at the Vatican on Easter Sunday after the 88-year-old Pontiff slammed the Trump administration’s treatment of illegal migrants
Photography and the use of electronic photography is strictly prohibited inside the holy site, according to the Vatican Museum’s website.
The image soon sparked backlash, with many online branding it disrespectful.
The photograph was taken by official White House photographer Emily Higgins.
There is also precedent for other prominent figures being pictured inside the 552-year-old chapel, including former First Lady Michelle Obama.
Vance might have even more of a difficult trip the Vatican as the new pope had previous negatively tweeted about the Republican.
The former missionary has repeatedly criticized the Trump administration’s immigration stance.
His last retweet, on April 14, slams the Trump administration’s deportation of undocumented migrant and Maryland father-of-three Kilmar Abrego Garcia, 30, to El Salvador.
The post reads: ‘Do you not see the suffering? Is your conscience not disturbed? How can you stay quiet?’
Vance might have even more of a difficult trip the Vatican as the new pope had previous negatively tweeted about the Republican and the Trump Administration
Pope Leo XIV also shared several articles that address Catholic JD Vance’s stance on immigration. One of them is titled: ‘JD Vance is wrong: Jesus doesn’t ask us to rank our love for others.’
In 2017, Pope Leo reposted a message in support of DACA recipients – those undocumented migrants brought to the US by their parents when they were children.
Pope Leo also shared a post in 2018 that read: ‘There is nothing remotely Christian, American, or morally defensible about a policy that takes children away from their parents and warehouses them in cages. This is being carried out in our name and the shame is on us all.’
He also shared several message directly opposing Trump’s immigration orders – including a 2018 letter from Peru’s Catholic leaders thanking the Trump administration for ‘stopping the separation of migrant children from their parents.’
The 69-year-old religious leader also used his first tweets under his new pope account to call on world leaders not to go to war.
He shared several hopeful posts to his X account on Wednesday calling for peace and faith – days after issuing a one-word message to America.
‘Peace be with you all! This is the first greeting spoken by the Risen Christ, the Good Shepherd,’ his first tweet read.
Pope Leo pointed his opening posts to ongoing conflicts around the world, calling for peace as wars in Ukraine and Gaza and India rage around the world.
‘There is so much violence and so many wars in our world!’ he wrote.
‘Amid this horror that should provoke outrage—as people die in the name of military conquest—stands the call of Christ, who repeats: “Peace be with you!”‘
