US Vice President JD Vance, who was among the final officials to meet Pope Francis before his death, has shared his encounter with the pope, stating that "it was pretty crazy" that he did so the day before he died.
According to The Hill report, Vance told the reporter on his latest trip to India that he could not have predicted the Pope's "less than 24 hours on this Earth" based on their most recent encounter.
Shared by The Hill, Vance can be heard saying, “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."
The Pope passed away early on Monday morning, the day after Easter, at the age of 88. He had been recuperating from a case of pneumonia.
During a trip to Rome and the Vatican, Vance met him briefly at a hotel in the Vatican. This week, US President Donald Trump is anticipated to attend the Pope's funeral.
JD Vance's meeting with Pope sparks debate online
Many people online started to doubt Donald Trump's "bad aura" after his deputy was among the last to meet Pope Francis.
One of the X users wrote, “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?”
While another one 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."
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