I should note up front that I’m not Catholic and I don’t know much about the theological inner workings of the Catholic church, so I’m going on faith (sorry) that Carlyn Beccia is giving a fair interpretation of these details:
“The Devil Presenting St. Augustine with the Book of Vices”
Michael Pacher, c. 1455 – Public Domain
A rumor got going recently that Donald J. Trump was dying. Like really dying. And once I explain how this rumor grew legs, it will all make perfect sense. Sort of.
But first, you need a little Catholic education. Don’t worry. I will make this slightly less painful than kneeling for 2 hours.
In the Catholic religion, a priest doesn’t put his hands on you just because he likes you. There are rules for holy touching. (I promised my Italian aunts no priest/pedo wise cracks. Resisting …)
Typically, the laying on of hands occurs ONLY during specific sacramental moments. A bishop does it at Confirmation and during Holy Orders — the ritual that turns a man into a priest. Confession once had it too. And of course, a priest lays his hands upon a sick or dying person during Last Rites or what is now called the Anointing of the Sick. (The Catholic Church used to wait until you were dying to offer divine intervention, but they loosened the rules for sick people after they realized you might need help surviving the American healthcare system.)
If you grew up evangelical, this tacit rule may sound strange. Evangelicals are constantly laying hands on people. Somebody gets a promotion, has a headache, can’t find their car keys, and … boom. Suddenly, six people are standing around them with their eyes closed, calling upon the Holy Spirit.
Sure, a Catholic priest can occasionally bless you outside the sacraments, but the Vatican has put that on a short leash. Denver’s previous archbishop, Samuel Aquila, said these blessings should be done preferably in private and must never become a “semi-liturgical act”. Under Fiducia Supplicans, a spontaneous blessing must be brief and simple, with no ritual that creates confusion.
Which is why one might be understandably confused after the White House circulated this picture of Catholic bishops huddled around Donald Trump in what appears to be a holy circle jerk.
Trump getting blessed during his naptime. Video posted on X Oct. 22, 2026, by the administration’s communications staff
Photo and caption from The Grim HistorianYep. Confusing.
Now, as you can imagine, the Pope’s PR team was very busy after this photo made the rounds. Milwaukee Archbishop Jeffrey Grob issued a public apology three days later. He said the bishops expected a private discussion and had not consented to publicly distributing the images.
In other words, this Oval Office blessing was supposed to be a secret.
Naturally, Catholics wanted to know — what sacrament were they performing? Which is why many Catholics just assumed Trump was dying.
I have some theories about what is going on in this picture, and it is not thoughts and prayers for their desired midterm result. Let’s just say if James Madison had seen this photograph, his head would have spun around like Linda Blair’s in The Exorcist.
So let’s start there.
