On Monday, 21st April, the world learned the sad news that Pope Francis had died at the age of 88 early that morning after a stroke put him into a coma and led to heart failure. He had made his last public appearance the day before, Easter Sunday, where he met several officials, including U.S. Vice President JD Vance.

On Sunday 27th April, British comedian John Oliver opened his Last Week Tonight by talking about the death of the Pope. He noted that Francis died “just a day after meeting with [Vice President] J.D. Vance – which, honestly, relatable.”

The brief Easter Sunday meeting between Pope Francis and Vice President Vance has become a focal point for jokes on social media, with platforms flooded with memes and quips suggesting a connection between the meeting and the Pope’s subsequent death. Comedian Bowen Yang referred to Vance as a “pope killer” during an appearance on The View, a comment that elicited laughter and surprise from the hosts

During the show, John also commented on the different cardinals who could be in line for the big job, noting that Cardinal Pizzaballa’s name translates to ‘pizza dance’. He went on: “Now, would electing a ‘Pope Pizzadance’ instantly repair the reputation of the Catholic Church? Obviously, the answer is we won’t know until we try.

“So JD Vance, you stay the f**k away from Cardinal Pizzadance. You don’t meet him, you don’t go near him, you don’t even think about him. Sure, he might be a terrible Pope, but don’t take away Papa Pizzaballa from us. The way the world is, we need this right now.”

JD Vance had a “brief” meeting with the Pope amid tensions between the pontiff and the White House on migration policy and welfare cuts. The US Vice President, who converted to Catholicism in 2019, is understood to have been keen to meet his Holiness whilst in Rome with his family.

The leader of the Catholic church had been reticent to grant an official meeting, but a “brief” audience was held on Sunday morning in Casa Santa Marta, where the 88-year-old lived. The meeting is understood to have “lasted a few minutes” according to the Vatican, allowing the two to exchange Easter greetings. The Pope has previously been critical of the US administration, condemning their policy on migration and pledge of mass deportations as “a disgrace”.

Mr Vance has at times attempted to clumsily use Catholic teachings to justify the White House’s approach to migration but has been slapped down by the Pope in open letters to Catholic Bishops in the US.

He was also outspoken on President Donald Trump, hours before his inauguration, telling Italian TV: “This won’t do! This is not the way to solve things. That’s not how things are resolved.”