JD Vance's Meet & Greet With Pope Leo XIV After Inaugural Mass Has Everyone Making The Same Joke

JD Vance and his wife, Usha Vance, attended Pope Leo XIV's inaugural mass, and his presence has sparked variations of the same joke. According to The Hill, JD, Usha, and several other international leaders got a little one-on-one time with the newly appointed pope during a meet and greet on May 18, 2025. Ultimately, their meeting was short-lived, lasting mere seconds as they exchanged casual greetings, and that's probably not just because JD and Pope Leo already have a slightly strained history. In any case, social media has reacted to their meeting and they've all made the same joke.

US Vice President JD Vance and his wife Usha greeting Pope Leo XIV in St. Peter's Basilica after the Mass for the Pope's Inauguration. pic.twitter.com/4ww2bx0rbR

— Catholic Sat (@CatholicSat) May 18, 2025

The internet is hoping JD doesn't wield his pope-killing powers on Pope Leo the way they think he did with Pope Francis, who died in late April hours after meeting the vice president in person. "To those wondering, JD's spells have no effect on Americans," tweeted one X user, alluding to Pope Leo's American ancestry. "You're welcome!" A second user was less optimistic, tweeting, "Let's hope the pope is not dead tomorrow." Keeping the positivity going, a third user wrote, "Well, it was nice having a new Pope for two weeks." Meanwhile, a fourth user simply tweeted a GIF of a sweaty, apprehensive man with the caption, "Pope Leo seeing JD Vance in the audience."

Of course, JD didn't actually have anything to do with Pope Francis' death, but try convincing social media of that.

Pope Francis died on April 21, 2025, after suffering from a slew of serious health issues. According to Reuters, Pope Francis slipped into a coma brought on by a stroke, along with serious cardiovascular issues, shortly before his death. Unfortunately, the 88-year-old also spent several of his last months recovering from double lung pneumonia, which claims the lives of 50,000 people a year in the U.S., according to Healthline. However, the article noted that double lung pneumonia isn't necessarily more deadly than normal pneumonia, as the severity is largely dictated by how much of each lung is infected.

These facts aside, social media ran with the narrative that JD Vance had a hand in his death. However, the vice president shared a different narrative. "The pope was very kind—he was obviously very frail," Vance shared with Fox News following his death. "We didn't spend a lot of time together. It was mostly exchanging pleasantries, but he gave a few gifts—he gave my kids Easter baskets, and there was just this very sweet moment."

And though users on social media used the fact that Vance was one of the last people to see Pope Francis alive as more proof of his nefarious intentions, he obviously saw things differently. "I obviously felt very sad, and my thought went immediately to the pope ..." Vance shared, adding, "But then it kind of hit me—oh my God—I was one of the last people to talk to him." He added, "I just take it as a great honor and a sign from God to remember that you never know when your last day on this Earth is."