The Avignon Papacy at Mar-a-Lago? ~ Is the Trump Administration attempting to capture Pope Leo XIV?

Cardinal Pierre and Undersecretary Colby share a heated and contentious handshake
during their meeting in January 2026 (courtesy of DOW Rapid Response)

It is being reported with breathless enthusiasm by the normally Catholic-phobic Left-media that a meeting between Vatican US representative Cardinal Christophe Pierre and Undersecretary of Defense Elbridge Colby back in January of 2026 went sideways in dramatic fashion. Anonymously-sourced reports say that Colby threatened Cardinal Pierre that the US, "has the military power to do whatever it wants in the world. The Catholic Church had better take its side." 

As if that wasn't bad enough, it was reported that "one official present" made reference to the Avignon Papacy — a period spanning nearly 70 years when the Papacy was captured and controlled by the French crown. The so-called Babylonian Captivity of the Papacy lasted from AD 1309 through 1376 and encompassed the reigns of seven recognized Popes, five anti-Popes, and three French kings. 

Since this news was first reported, both the Vatican and the Trump Administration have issued vigorous denials, stating that things were completely cordial at the meeting. That said, it seems clear that something happened to make certain parties freak out, but perhaps not the bombshell shouting match between US officials and Vatican liaisons that Left-media wishful thinking attempted to insinuate.

Of course, the historically illiterate or purposely obtuse Left-media immediately made much of the alleged mention of the Avignon Papacy. Stripping the claim of context, they imagined it to be some sort of threat by the US to capture Leo XIV and set him up as Pope-in-Exile under US control, perhaps at Mar-a-Lago. 

Assuming that the reference to Avignon happened at all — perhaps a stretch considering how readily the Left-media lies and exaggerates as a matter of course — I have a different interpretation. Perhaps the "one official present" mentioned the Avignon Papacy in the sense that the Papacy has already been captured, and has been in a state of captivity by globalist elites since 2013. 

Now admittedly, that may also be a stretch, but let's consider a few facts:

• During the run-up to the 2016 election, documents leaked from Hillary Clinton Campaign Chair John Podesta dating from February of 2012 to various correspondents revealed ideas to initiate a "Catholic Spring" to sweep away the "middle ages dictatorship" at the Vatican. 
• In mid-January of 2013, Obama's campaign chief and closest advisor, David Axelrod, fresh off the presidential election victory, appeared in Rome, ostensibly to advise Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti. That seems like an odd thing to do on the eve of Obama's second inauguration. 
• On February 11, 2013, about a month after Axelrod's visit, Pope Benedict XVI resigned the Papacy.
• On March 13, 2013, Pope Francis was elected Pope while Benedict XVI retained the title of "Pope Emeritus".
• On October 31, 2013, the Italian magazine Panorama published an article claiming that the US National Security Administration (NSA) tapped phone calls of Vatican officials before and during the Papal Conclave of 2013.
• Obama's administration used Theodore Cardinal McCarrick as a liaison between them and Benedict XVI's Vatican. McCarrick happened to be in Rome on February 14, 2013. It is speculated that McCarrick was an ally of the Saint Gallen Mafia group that was instrumental in pushing Jorge Bergoglio forward as a papal candidate. McCarrick himself was a vocal supporter of Cardinal Bergoglio. McCarrick, of course, would be disgraced and laicized by Pope Francis in 2019.
• Archbishop Carlo Viganò has claimed for several years that Benedict XVI's resignation was instigated by "deep state" forces within the US.
• In February of 2025, LifeSite News posted a petition to the Trump administration calling for an investigation into whether Obama officials forced Benedict XVI to resign.

And finally...

• Yesterday, April 9, 2026, as the story of the contentious meeting between the Pentagon and Vatican officials made world news, who should appear at the Vatican? That's right...David Axelrod. Now what do you suppose he was doing there?

Again, I admit that this is all pure speculation. But just perhaps, the Trump administration took LifeSite's suggestion seriously, investigated the Obama administration's role in Benedict XVI's resignation and the election of Francis, and discovered some rather unsettling things.

If Obama Administration officials were implicated in forcing the resignation of a Pope and pushed for the installation of a hand-picked successor, that might create a scenario at least somewhat similar to the politics of the Babylonian Captivity of the Papacy in 14th century Avignon. 

So to answer the question posed in the title of this article: No, the Trump administration is not attempting to capture Pope Leo XIV. The administration may, however, be willing to reveal to the world that some parties within the Vatican are more loyal to global politicians than they are to the Holy Father. Such a scenario would explain the freak out and flurry of anonymous leaks to the Left-media about this story.

We shall have to wait and see what, if anything, comes out.

May Almighty God reveal the truth as He sees fit.