WASHINGTON — Vice President JD Vance will publish a new book this summer exploring his conversion to Catholicism as an adult, The Associated Press reported March 31.
“Communion: Finding My Way Back to Faith” will be published June 16, the HarperCollins Publishers imprint Harper told AP. HarperCollins is also the publisher of Vance’s memoir, “Hillbilly Elegy,” a bestseller that helped raise his national profile.
“The story of how I regained my faith, of course, only happened because I had lost it to begin with,” Vance, 41, said in a statement. “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.”
The publisher told AP that Vance wrote the book himself, working on it off and on since 2019, the same year he converted to Catholicism.
Vance has described himself as the “first Catholic convert” to be vice president. Vance is just the second Catholic to hold that office, preceded only by former President Joe Biden.
During his time as vice president, Vance has occasionally found himself at odds with Catholic Church leadership, such as when he questioned the motives of the U.S. bishops’ criticism of some of Trump’s immigration policies.
The AP noted the announcement of a new book is likely to fuel speculation that Vance will seek the presidency in 2028, as publishing a book — and going on a subsequent media tour for that book — is common among presidential hopefuls. Others seen as likely Democratic contenders for the White House, such as Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, California Gov. Gavin Newsom, and former Vice President Kamala Harris, have also published or announced forthcoming books.
