Watch out, JD Vance is back to the Vatican to meet the Pope

Vice President JD Vance will visit the Vatican for the second time in a few weeks, after meeting Pope Francis around 24 hours before his death.

This time, he will be part of the American delegation, accompanied by his wife and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, to attend Pope Leo XIV’s inaugural mass, scheduled for May 18.

It is not specified whether JD Vance will have the opportunity to meet the new pope personally, although he insisted on seeing Pope Francis shortly before his death, when the latter was seriously ill. In any case, this possible meeting will undoubtedly attract attention, given the recent circumstances.

The new pope, then still a cardinal, had publicly criticized JD Vance for his positions on immigration and his interpretation of the Gospels.

In February, he had notably reacted on X to an interview with the vice-president on Fox News, saying: “JD Vance is wrong: Jesus doesn’t ask us to rank our love for others“.

JD Vance had invoked a medieval Christian concept to defend a hierarchy of love: to give love first to one’s family, then to one’s neighbors, one’s community, one’s fellow citizens, and lastly to the rest of the world. This reading was strongly criticized by many Catholics, including Pope Francis, as contrary to the Gospel teaching of universal, unconditional love.

Since his appointment, the new Pope Leo XIV’s comments on social networks have come under close scrutiny, particularly from supporters of the MAGA movement. Many of them accuse him of being “too woke”, pointing the finger at his perceived anti-Trump and pro-immigration stances.