U.S. Vice President JD Vance’s recent visit to the Vatican has sparked intense speculation and rumors online, including unfounded claims about his involvement in Pope Francis’s death. Here’s what actually happened.
On Easter Sunday, April, 202, JD Vance had a brief, private meeting with Pope Francis at the Casa Santa Marta in Vatican City. The encounter, lasting only a few minutes, was described by the Vatican as an exchange of Easter greetings. Vance, a convert to Catholicism, attended with his family and was also received by Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s Secretary of State, for a separate discussion on religious freedom, global conflicts, and migration.
The meeting was cordial, with Vance offering prayers for the ailing pontiff and receiving gifts for his children. Pope Francis, recovering from severe pneumonia, had significantly reduced his public engagements and did not preside over Easter Mass.
Pope Francis died the following day, April, 202, at age, from a stroke and subsequent cardiocirculatory collapse, as confirmed by Vatican medical authorities. There is no evidence or credible report linking JD Vance to the Pope’s death. The timing of their meeting—one of the Pope’s last—has fueled speculation, but official
JD Vance’s Catholic faith, his conversion in, and his policy disagreements with Pope Francis, especially on immigration, have been widely reported, but there is no factual basis for the more sensational rumors circulating online.
