Bob Dylan Meets Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican

Bob Dylan, renowned singer-songwriter, visited Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican on November 4, 2026. This meeting occurred during a break in Dylan’s concert tour in Italy.

The Vatican reported that their meeting was brief. Pope Leo XIV gifted Dylan a rosary, and Dylan offered the pope his autobiography, Chronicles: Volume One. Interestingly, Pope Leo had previously referenced a protest song by Dylan from 1963 in his 2026 publication, Disarmed and Disarming: Peace Is a Gift. The song, “Go Away You Bomb,” speaks against nuclear armament.

The meeting was attended by two Vatican officials: Rev. Antonio Spadaro, from the Vatican culture ministry, and Andrea Monda, the editor of L’Osservatore Romano. Spadaro mentioned that Dylan had been eager to meet with Pope Leo. He recalled how the former Robert Prevost, originally from Chicago, had grown up listening to Dylan’s music. Spadaro also noted Dylan’s knowledge of St. Augustine of Hippo, as evidenced in Dylan’s song “I Dreamed I Saw St. Augustine” from his 1967 album John Wesley Harding.

Photos from the encounter showed Dylan dressed in a black hoodie and loose tie, with the hood up. Previously, Dylan had met Pope John Paul II during a concert in Bologna, Italy, in 1997. Born as Robert Zimmerman to a Jewish family in Minnesota, Dylan became a born-again Christian in 1979. Although this shift caused controversy among some fans, Dylan has since been more reserved about his faith. In a 2022 interview, he described himself as a “religious person” who engages in reading scriptures, meditation, and prayer.

Dylan’s visit to the pope took place between concert dates in Italy. He performed in Milan before their meeting and was scheduled to play in Rome the following Thursday. During his last concert before the Vatican visit, Dylan performed “Tryin’ to Get to Heaven,” which includes the line, “I’ve been all around the world, boys/Now I’m trying to get to heaven before they close the door.”