A month ago, JD Vance flew to Italy and demanded a photo-op with Pope Francis. Francis begrudgingly agreed to a last-minute photo-op and then Francis died 24 hours later. Obviously, it’s now well-known that JD Vance is a harbinger of death, and world leaders are quite concerned about agreeing to meetings with Vance. That didn’t stop JD from flying back to the Vatican this weekend for Pope Bob’s inauguration and mass. Vance brought his wife Usha, who must be sick of all of this by now. Apparently, Vance once again tried to get a private meeting with the new pope, but Bob only gave him a brief handshake and then continued with his scheduled meetings with other world leaders.

Pope Leo XIV spurned JD Vance on Sunday, offering him a quick greeting after his inaugural mass while holding extensive private meetings with other world leaders. The first American pope shook Vance’s hand during a brief, 17-second exchange during the procession line after the mass.

Leo met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Peruvian President Dina Ercilia Boluarte Zegarra on Sunday after celebrating his inaugural Mass, which included world leaders from Canada, Italy, Germany, and other European Union officials in the audience.

The snub comes after the pope subtly criticized Vance and the Trump administration during his sermon, which has expelled and terrorized migrants and prompted seizing foreign land and resources, including Greenland.

“In this our time, we still see too much discord, too many wounds caused by hatred, violence, prejudice, the fear of difference, and an economic paradigm that exploits the Earth’s resources and marginalizes the poorest,” Leo said on Sunday.

The White House did not respond to an immediate request for comment on whether Vance sought a longer meeting or whether one was in the works. Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio were set to meet with other European leaders on Sunday, including Zelensky.

Before he became Pope Leo, Father Robert Prevost reposted multiple posts that took aim at Vance’s complicity in the Trump administration’s draconian immigration policies. He reposted a National Catholic Reporter op-ed with the title “JD Vance is wrong: Jesus doesn’t ask us to rank our love for others,” and he shared other op-eds that highlighted the plight of migrants deported to El Salvador.

[From The Daily Beast]

Good for Pope Bob! I’m glad he didn’t give Vance a real photo-op or a private meeting. Bob did give President Zelenskyy a private meeting and photocall, and several European kings and queens also got a private audience, including King Felipe and Queen Letizia. Incidentally, it looks like Zelenskyy stopped and shook hands with Vance at the mass as well – they haven’t seen each other since that horrible Oval Office meeting, right? The one where Vance childishly shrieked “you never said thank you!”

Update: Apparently, Pope Bob relented and met Vance today at the Vatican. Did Vance just hang around for 24 hours, throwing increasingly loud tantrums until the papal officials finally gave him a meeting? The same thing happened with Pope Francis last month – Francis kept refusing the meeting with Vance until the very last minute.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.