Wild Conspiracy Theory: Did JD Vance Orchestrate Pope Francis’s Exit to Elect Pope Leo XIV?

 In 2018 a group known as the Napa Institute began planning for the next pope after Francis. Their leader Tim Busch paid for a project called “The Red Hat Report.” It used former FBI and CIA agents to find bad information on cardinals who were more liberal. They focused mainly on abuse cases.

Later during Rome’s “America Week” wealthy American Catholics held big parties. Some reports said they promised the Vatican billions if the “right pope” was chosen.

Then on Sunday April 20, 2025, U.S. Vice President JD Vance met Pope Francis. People noticed that Vance held the Pope’s hand and touched his arm. Some joked it looked like a scene from a spy movie but there’s no proof anything strange happened. Still others said Vance had “bad luck.”

Vance also broke a rule by taking a photo in the Sistine Chapel. A picture of him and his son there made some wonder if he respected the rules.

Just a few hours after meeting Vance, Pope Francis died. After that American conservative Catholics tried to influence the choice of the next pope. But their plan didn’t work. Some believe Vance became Catholic in 2019 to help his political career.