John Oliver opened Sunday’s Last Week Tonight by talking about the death of Pope Francis.
Francis died Monday at age 88 after a stroke put him into a coma and led to heart failure. He also had suffered from chronic lung disease and recently had been hospitalized for 38 days due to respiratory issues that led to double pneumonia.
On his HBO series, Oliver noted that Francis died “just a day after meeting with [Vice President] J.D. Vance — which, honestly, relatable.”
Oliver then addressed the mounting speculation about who Francis’ successor will be. Potential candidates include Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Cardinal Matteo Zuppi and Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa.
Regarding the latter, Oliver showed a video clip of an expert noting: “His name in Italian literally means pizza dance.”
“And I know that it sounds almost offensively Italian, but do keep in mind every last name in Italy means pizza dance,” Oliver joked.
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 fuck 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.”
Francis was pope for 12 years. He made his last public appearance the day before he died, on Easter Sunday, when he blessed thousands of people in St. Peter’s Square in Vatican City. He met with Vance before that appearance.
