Less than a month after catching heat for snapping a forbidden family photo beneath Michelangelo’s ceiling in the Sistine Chapel, U.S. Vice President JD Vance is again in hot water—this time for an unguarded elbow pat on the freshly installed Pope Leo XIV.
The meeting took place on May 18, just after the American-born pontiff celebrated his inaugural Mass. Diplomats and dignitaries had been briefed, as always, on centuries-old protocol: wait to be introduced, speak only when addressed, keep contact to a brief handshake unless the Pope initiates more, and—above all—show the utmost deference.
Vance seemed to follow the script at first. Flanked by Second Lady Usha Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, he greeted “Your Holiness” with a respectful shake and a few polite words. Then came the moment that set social media ablaze: the vice president reached out and gave the pontiff’s elbow a friendly pat before moving along. Cameras caught a subtle shrug from Leo XIV, and within minutes the clip rocketed around X, TikTok, and cable news panels.
Critics called the gesture “cringey,” “hillbilly,” and “a textbook breach of decorum.” One commenter fumed, “He acted like Pope Leo was a buddy at a bar.” Another joked the Pope’s slight recoil looked like “a holy shudder.” Even supporters conceded the move was tone-deaf given Vance’s rocky history with the Vatican.
That history goes back to early 2025, when then-Cardinal Robert Prevost (now Pope Leo XIV) publicly corrected Vance’s televised claim that Christianity endorses ranking love—family first, foreigners last. “Jesus doesn’t ask us to prioritize affection,” the future pontiff wrote in a since-deleted tweet linked to an account connected to his personal email.
🇺🇸✝️ Pope Leo XIV greets Vice President J.D. Vance, Second Lady Usha Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Mrs. Jeanette Rubio following his Inaugural Mass at the Vatican. pic.twitter.com/NnSiSbLw7u
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) May 18, 2025
Vance later attempted to smooth things over, insisting he would “pray for the Church” rather than “politicize the pope game.” Yet Sunday’s elbow tap reopened old wounds and overshadowed Secretary Rubio’s parallel effort to jump-start Russia-Ukraine peace talks.
Whether the vice president’s misstep was simple Midwestern informality or a lapse in judgment, Vatican watchers agree on one point: the papal etiquette rulebook exists for a reason, and any deviation—no matter how small—can steal headlines from far weightier global issues.
