How a Near-Crash Sparked a Journey of Faith for JD Vance

Vice President JD Vance described a near-car accident on a mountain pass as a turning point that eventually led to his entry into the Catholic Church in 2019.

In an interview on EWTN’s The World Over that aired Oct. 22, Vance recounted driving between eastern Kentucky and North Carolina as a young Marine. While grieving the death of his grandmother, his car hit a curve and began spinning toward a mountain drop-off. Vance told Raymond Arroyo that the vehicle came to a sudden, restful stop just before going over the edge, which he felt was as if God had placed a hand on the car to stop it.

Vance said he did not understand the significance of the moment at the time, but he has since viewed the experience as a supernatural sign that God was trying to communicate with him. He noted that this event preceded a period of doubt and intellectual searching that concluded with him joining the Catholic Church.