Vice President JD Vance’s upcoming memoir about his conversion to Catholicism features an embarrassing slip-up — the idyllic church pictured on the front cover isn’t Catholic.
Vance, 41, announced Tuesday that Communion: Finding My Way Back to Faith would come out June 16. The cover of the book, set to be published by Harper, the flagship imprint of HarperCollins, features a charming white church in rural Appalachia.
While Vance is a staunch Catholic, the image chosen for his book’s cover is of Mount Zion Church in Elk Creek, Virginia, which is a United Methodist house of worship, according to The Bulwark’s national political reporter Joe Perticone.
“Mount Zion is undeniably photogenic, which is why it’s also a popular stock image,” Perticone wrote. “Vance’s choice of photo struck me as odd, given that the vice president has been outspoken about his Catholic faith.”
Vance’s 2016 memoir, Hillbilly Elegy, elevated his public profile and laid the groundwork for his career in politics. Published by HarperCollins in 2016, it shared his story of growing up in Middletown, Ohio, and summers spent with family in Appalachia.
The book also gave Vance the reputation as someone who could help explain Trump’s appeal to middle America especially among rural, working-class white voters.
Vance’s new book is described by HarperCollins as “an intimate account” of why the vice president “strayed from the Christianity of his youth and what led him back to faith.”
Vance converted to Catholicism in 2019.
“The story of how I regained my faith, of course, only happened because I had lost it to begin with,” Vance said about the new book, according to a press release from the publisher.
“The interesting question that hangs over this book, and over my mind, is why I ever strayed from the path. Why the Christian faith of my youth failed to properly take root.”
A spokesperson for Vance directed inquiries to the publisher. The Independent has contacted HarperCollins for comment.
Vance, who started out as a harsh critic of Trump, was selected as his running mate during the 2024 election. During a debate against Democratic VP nominee Tim Walz, Vance said that he was misled by “dishonest fabrications” when he compared Trump to Hitler.
There is growing speculation that Vance is gearing up to run for president in 2028. Many presidential hopefuls release books before announcing their campaigns. Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear and Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro have both recently released memoirs, and are rumored candidates in the Democratic field.
