After his visit to the Vatican last month, JD Vance found himself at the center of attention from the Catholics and not in a good way. He was accused of breaking a major rule of the Vatican, with which he is not apparently well versed with. Now, after meeting Pope Leo, the Catholics have again charged Vance of inappropriate behavior.
Upon meeting the Pope on May 18, Vance shook hands with him and then proceeded to touch the Pope’s elbow like one might do to a friend. This is where the netizens got annoyed as people described the behavior as “overly familiar and inappropriate.” One user said that his gesture looked “almost condescending” and like “patting a puppy’s head before moving along.”
Another user mentioned, “J.D. Vance embarrassed himself again at the Vatican when he attempted to pat Pope Leo XIV on the shoulder like a drinking buddy in St. Peter’s Basilica after the papal inauguration mass.”
It should be noted here that there are certain rules and etiquette that need to be followed while meeting the Pope. For instance, wearing formal clothes, standing and waiting to get introduced to the Pope and speaking only when spoken to while addressing the Pope as ‘Your Holiness’ are some of the rules. Moreover, there are also rules about not touching the Pope unless the Pope initiates it. Kissing the Pope’s ring without permission is also frowned upon.
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
Another interesting thing here is that Pope Leo had previously mentioned his disliking for the Republicans. He is especially critical of Donald Trump and his ruthless immigration policies and he even called out the VP once for being wrong about a certain concept of Christianity.
However, Vance did not seem much bothered by his criticism as he told The Independent that he tried “not to play the politicization of the Pope game.” Talking about the same, Vance also said in a radio show, “I’m sure he’s going to say a lot of things that I love. I’m sure he’ll say some things that I disagree with, but I’ll continue to pray for him and the Church despite it all and through it all.”
JD Vance, joined by his wife, Usha Vance, met Pope Leo XIV following the pontiff’s inaugural Mass in St. Peter’s Square.
What do you notice? pic.twitter.com/rQXxObUqUH
— Republicans against Trump (@RpsAgainstTrump) May 18, 2025
This attitude of his might have pushed him to be overly friendly with the Pope, which unfortunately backfired and resulted in a social media backlash. It now remains to be seen if JD Vance or the White House addresses Vance’s behavior or chooses to ignore the criticism he has received.
Scroll down below to see some images of the Vice President and Pope Leo.
