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Pope Leo XIV Meets Bob Dylan at Vatican
· Confirmed
In Short: The Vatican announced that Pope Leo XIV met with Bob Dylan, who presented the pontiff with his autobiography.
Pope Leo XIV met with Bob Dylan at the Vatican on Wednesday, Nov. 4, during a brief encounter that included greetings and a few lighthearted exchanges.
According to Vatican News, the pope presented Dylan with a rosary, while Dylan reciprocated with a copy of his autobiography, 'Chronicles: Volume One.'
Dylan, who is in Rome for a concert at the Palazzo dello Sport, wore a black hoodie and loose tie, maintaining his unconventional style even at the Vatican.
The meeting was described by Father Antonio Spadaro, who accompanied Dylan, as having 'the flavour of history,' according to Forward.
In an essay in L'Osservatore Romano, Pope Leo XIV recalled that Dylan grew up familiar with his music, and the pope quoted Dylan's work in his book 'Disarmed and Disarming: Peace is a Gift.'
Dylan, who won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2016, is known for his songs associated with anti-war protests and civil rights.
Photos shared by the Vatican’s newspaper showed the pair shaking hands, with the 71-year-old pontiff dressed in his traditional white cassock and Dylan sporting a black coat, black gloves, and a black hoodie.
The meeting was brief and consisted of greetings and conversation, according to Vatican News.
Dylan, who changed his name from Robert Zimmerman, was born to a Jewish family in Minnesota and has been more circumspect about his religious beliefs in recent years.
In a 2022 interview with The Wall Street Journal, Dylan said that he was a 'religious person' who reads the scriptures, meditates, and prays.
Dylan's visit to the Vatican was not his first papal encounter: He played for Pope John Paul II, and thousands of other people, in 1997 during a concert capping a religious congress in Bologna, Italy.
What this adds
The meeting took place as Pope Leo XIV was preparing for several meetings with victims of clerical sexual abuse during his apostolic journey.
The Vatican press office had previously announced that the pope would hold meetings with victims of clerical sexual abuse during his apostolic journey.
Background
The Vatican announced Tuesday that the pope will hold several meetings with victims of clerical sexual abuse during his apostolic journey.
Pope Leo XIV met with the basketball teams from Villanova and Notre Dame at the Vatican on Saturday, ahead of their season opener in Rome.
What's confirmed
- The Vatican said the encounter was brief, with Leo giving Dylan a rosary and Dylan presenting the pope with a copy of his autobiography, "Chronicles: Volume One."
- He famously became a born-again Christian in 1979 and alienated some of his longtime fans with songs like "Gotta Serve Somebody" and "Saved." In more recent years, Dylan has been more circumspect about his religious beliefs.
- In an essay in L'Osservatore Romano, he recalled that the former Robert Prevost, who was born in Chicago in 1955, grew up familiar with Dylan's music.
- The 85-year-old singer-songwriter, who is in Rome for a concert at the Palazzo dello Sport, had a brief meeting with the Pope, consisting of greetings and a few lighthearted exchanges, as reported by Euronews.
- The song, written in 1963, addresses the nuclear threat and was quoted by the Pope to warn against rearmament.
- As for what exactly the singer and the pontiff pontificated about, Vatican News reported only that the pair swapped greetings and “a few lighthearted exchanges” during the “brief” meeting.
- Back in July, the Pope quoted Dylan’s work in Disarmed and Disarming: Peace is a Gift, a book published by the Vatican Publishing House.
- In a 2022 interview with The Wall Street Journal, Dylan said that he was a "religious person" who reads the scriptures, meditates, and prays.
- Pope Leo XIV, right, and the singer and Nobel prize winner Bob Dylan, left, shake hands during a meeting in the Vatican on Wednesday, Nov.
- The American singer-songwriter and poet visited with the American pope at the Vatican during a break between concert dates in Italy.
- Pope Leo XIV granted Bob Dylan a private audience at the Vatican this morning (November 4), further cementing his downtown bona fides after welcoming Patti Smith in July.
- Spadaro said Dylan had wanted to speak with Leo, and the two met in private for a few minutes.
What's still developing
- Appearing before the Pope in his black jacket, gloves, and the hood he had pulled over his head, the artist maintained his unconventional style at the Vatican as well.
- Dylan, the mythically private and fuss-refusing Nobel laureate, wore a black hoodie, hood up—seemingly held aloft by a black baseball cap—for the occasion, in evidence in a photo published by the Vatican’s Dicastery for Communication.
- He also expressed his hope that the Journey "may strengthen faith, renew hope, rekindle the fire of charity, and encourage us to continue proclaiming the Gospel with joy." In his comments, the Pope also recalled that two beatification celebrations will take place on Saturday.
- In 1997, Dylan was invited to perform alongside other artists at the 23rd National Eucharistic Congress in Bologna, before the Pope—then John Paul II—and a crowd of approximately 300,000 young people.
- The quote appears in an unpublished text from the book “ Unarmed and Disarming: Peace Is a Gift,” published by the Vatican Publishing House.
- All along the watchtower, eyes were on the Vatican as Pope Leo XIV (born Robert Francis Prevost ) crossed paths with Bob Dylan (born Robert Allen Zimmerman ).
- This week, Bob Dylan is knock, knock, knockin’ on heaven’s door — well, arguably the closest earthly thing to it — with the folk-rock icon meeting Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican on Wednesday (Nov.
- The folk rocker and the Chicago-born pontiff met at the Vatican, nearly 30 years after Dylan performed for Pope John Paul II Bob Dylan has spent decades knocking on heaven’s door — and on Wednesday, Nov.
- Considerable cloudiness with occasional rain showers.
- Bob Dylan, whose songs have explored war, faith, and the search for peace for more than six decades, met Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican on Wednesday, November 4, bringing together an American music legend and a pontiff who has found new relevance in the singer’s early anti-nuclear message.
- Dylan played several of his classics, including “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door” and “A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall,” before shaking hands with the pontiff.