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Bob Dylan Meets Pope Leo XIV at Vatican

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In Short: Bob Dylan, the legendary American singer-songwriter, met with Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican on Wednesday, November 4, during a break from his ongoing tour of Italy.

Bob Dylan Meets Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican. TODAY

Bob Dylan, the legendary American singer-songwriter, met with Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican on Wednesday, November 4, during a break from his ongoing tour of Italy. The meeting, which was brief but significant, brought together two influential figures from very different worlds.

Photographs released by Vatican Media showed Dylan greeting the Pope while wearing a black hooded sweatshirt, a black jacket, gloves, and a loosely knotted tie. This unconventional outfit caught the attention of online observers, with one Reddit user quipping, 'Emo!'

Dylan, 85, was accompanied by Jesuit priest Father Antonio Spadaro and Andrea Monda, editor of the Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano. The encounter was described as a moment of mutual respect and admiration, with Pope Leo presenting Dylan with a rosary and Dylan giving the pontiff a copy of his autobiography, 'Chronicles: Volume One.'

The meeting was not Dylan's first with a Pope. In 1997, he played for Pope John Paul II during a concert capping a religious congress in Bologna, Italy. This time, however, the visit was more intimate, with Dylan and Pope Leo meeting in private for a few minutes, as noted by Father Spadaro.

Pope Leo, who was born in Chicago, grew up familiar with Dylan's music. In a 2022 interview with the Wall Street Journal, Dylan said that he was a 'religious person' who reads the scriptures, meditates, and prays. This shared interest in spirituality likely contributed to the significance of their meeting.

The Pope had already referenced Dylan's work in July 2026, when he quoted lyrics from Dylan's 1963 protest composition 'Go Away You Bomb' in the preface to 'Disarmed and Disarming: Peace Is a Gift,' a book published by the Vatican Publishing House.

Dylan's visit to the Vatican came during a break between concert dates in Italy. He played in Milan on Monday and is scheduled to perform in Rome on Thursday. In his most recent concert before the meeting with the Pope, Dylan sang his 1997 song 'Tryin' to Get to Heaven,' which contains the lyric, 'I've been all around the world, boys/Now I'm trying to get to heaven before they close the door.'

While the meeting was undoubtedly a significant moment for both music and religious history, the Vatican press office did not immediately comment on whether Leo and Dylan had discussed anything 'blowing in the wind.'

What this adds

Background

What's confirmed

• The Pope had already referenced the musician's work in July 2026, when he quoted lyrics from Dylan's 1963 protest composition 'Go Away You Bomb' in the preface to Disarmed and Disarming: Peace Is a Gift, a book published by the Vatican Publishing House.
• Dylan was accompanied by Jesuit priest Father Antonio Spadaro and Andrea Monda, editor of the Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano.
• 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.
• Spadaro said Dylan had wanted to speak with Leo, and the two met in private for a few minutes.
• He also noted that Dylan was very familiar with St. Augustine of Hippo, the inspiration of Leo's spirituality and Augustinian religious order, penning "I Dreamed I Saw St. Augustine" for the 1967 album John Wesley Harding.
• 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.
• Vatican photos of the encounter showed him with the hood over his head.
• In a 2022 interview with the Wall Street Journal, Dylan said that he was a "religious person" who reads the scriptures, meditates and prays.
• In more recent years, Dylan has been more circumspect about his religious beliefs. 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 met with Leo in between concert dates in Italy. He played in Milan on Monday and is playing Rome on Thursday. In his most recent concert before the meeting with the pope, Dylan sang his 1997 song "Tryin' to Get to Heaven" that contains the lyric, "I've been all around the world, boys/Now I'm trying to get to heaven before they close the door."
• VATICAN CITY — Bob Dylan came knockin’ on Pope Leo XIV’ s door Wednesday, as the American singer-songwriter and poet visited with the American pope at the Vatican during a break between concert dates in Italy.
• Dylan, who won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2016, wore a black hoodie and a loose tie.
• Dylan, who changed his name from Robert Zimmerman, was born to a Jewish family in Minnesota.

What's still developing

• And honestly, it is not every day that the Pope welcomes one of music's most influential figures dressed as though he is about to headline an underground rock gig.
• Its original manuscript was discovered in 2013, decades after it was written.
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Sources

• Corsicana Daily Sunlink
• Fashion Times UKlink
• Herald Bulletinlink
• Krcgtvlink
• NPRlink
• Oskaloosa Heraldlink
• PBSlink
• Starts at 60link
• WV Newslink
• timesdaily.comlink
• Kdhnewslink
• Ottumwacourierlink
• WarpBeat — background on Pope Leo XIV Meets Bob Dylan at Vatican link
• WarpBeat — background on Pope Leo XIV Meets Bob Dylan at Vatican link
• TODAY — video link
• CBS Chicago — video link
• Daily Parrot TV — video link
• Bob Dylan * Only Vocals — video link
• CBS Chicago — video link