ICYMI, the internet has been having an absolute field day with conclave memes about the next pope — and IDK about y’all, but I’m lowkey here for it. Following the death of Pope Francis on April 21, speculation has been swirling about who will be chosen as the next Pope to lead the Catholic Church. But, leave it to the internet to turn a deeply sacred (and centuries-old) tradition into a viral internet meme.
Things really took off when President Donald Trump posted an AI-generated photo of himself dressed as the Pope (oof). While thousands were outraged and were quick to criticize the post as disrespectful, the memes practically wrote themselves after this. The photo immediately went viral, and from there, the internet became a full-blown meme central.
On TikTok, users immediately memed the situation, with some comparing the selection of the new pope to the NBA draft, calling it the “Pope Playoffs.” Meanwhile, X, formerly known as Twitter, was filled with AI-generated memes of everyone’s favorite celebrities, like Lana Del Rey, Zendaya, and even Mr. Bean, imagined as the next pope. From unhinged tweets to insane AI-generated images, here are some of my personal favorite memes of the internet’s reaction to the pope-picking process.
And y’all, they even made a Pope Crave.
The internet is having a great time with this one.
IDK what’s more entertaining, the fact that people are making memes out of the Pope selection process or that people are actually betting on what the next Pope’s race will be.
May the best drag queen win.
So, are they gonna fight to the death to determine who the next Pope is, or what…
Happy Pope Playoffs to all who celebrate!
Lowkey not mad about it. No more Mondays and endless lasagna? Sign me up!
Lewis Hamilton as the new Pope? I mean…he’s British, but sure…
Does this mean that “Young and Beautiful” plays anytime you walk into a church? If so, sign me up…
IDK about y’all, but these memes lowkey have me excited to see who the next Pope is gonna be. Will be manifesting that it’s Jacob Elordi, but looks like we’ll have to wait and see!