Vice President J.D. Vance may need some divine intervention to help him on his next task ... saying he'd like to speak to the principals allegedly involved in a confrontation between the U.S. and the Vatican.

Here's the deal ... The Free Press put out a report earlier this week -- citing unnamed Vatican officials -- about a January meeting between U.S. Department of War officials and Cardinal Christophe Pierre, the Vatican's ambassador to the U.S. at the time.

Officials at the time allegedly told Pierre the Catholic Church should get on board with the Trump administrations' war tactics.

VP Vance says he first heard of the alleged altercation when asked about it by a reporter ... and he wants to talk to the people involved before putting out an opinion.

Vance also claims not to know Pierre at first ... but, later says he actually met the Cardinal -- he just didn't know his name!

A War Department spokesperson told Newsweek ... "The meeting between Pentagon and Vatican officials was a respectful and reasonable discussion. We have nothing but the highest regard and welcome continued dialogue with the Holy See."

However, Pope Leo XVI -- the first American pope -- apparently doesn't feel as fuzzy about the administration ... because he reportedly canceled a meeting with President Donald Trump because of this reported incident.

Anyhoo ... the Veep's on the case ... stay tuned!