JD Vance opens up about meeting Pope Francis a day before he died: ‘It’s pretty crazy, actually'

US Vice President JD Vance, who was one of the last officials to meet Pope Francis before he died, has reflected on his meeting with the pontiff, saying "it was pretty crazy" that he met the Pope the day before he passed away, The Hill reported.

Talking to reporters during his recent visit to India, Vance said that he could not have guessed from their last meeting that the Pope has "less than 24 hours on this Earth".

“I thought a lot about that. It’s pretty crazy, actually. Obviously, when I saw him, I didn’t know that he had less than 24 hours still on this Earth. I think it was a great blessing. But, you know, he saw a lot of people. I think he affected a lot of lives. And I try to just remember that I was lucky I got to shake his hand," he is heard saying in a video shared by The Hill.

The Pope, who had been recovering from a bout of pneumonia, died early Monday morning, the day after Easter at the age of 88.

Vance briefly met him at a Vatican hotel during a trip to Rome and the Vatican. US President Donald Trump is expected to attend the Pope’s funeral this week.

Vance meeting sparks ‘bad aura’ theories

After Donald Trump's deputy became one of the last people to meet Pope Francis, many on the internet began questioning his “bad aura”.

““JD Vance's world tour is something else! Meets the Pope in Italy, and poof—Pontiff's gone the next day. Lands in India, and boom, Pahalgam terror attack kills 28, including an Italian and an Israeli. Coincidence or cosmic bad luck?” said one X user.

Another user said, “I can’t help but feel that JD Vance brings misfortune. Just the day before yesterday, he met the Pope,and the very next day, the Pope passed away. Yesterday, he arrived in India, and today we’re witnessing this heinous terrorist attack. The timing feels eerily unsettling."