Bob Dylan meets Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican

Bob Dylan met with Pope Leo XIV at the Apostolic Palace in Vatican City this week. The meeting between the Nobel Prize-winning songwriter and the first American pope was described by Vatican News as brief and friendly, consisting of greetings and lighthearted exchanges.

During the audience, the two men exchanged gifts: the Pope presented Dylan with a rosary, while the 84-year-old musician gave the Pope a copy of his autobiography, “Chronicles: Volume One.” Dylan was accompanied by Rev. Antonio Spadaro, a Vatican culture ministry official, and Andrea Monda, editor of L'Osservatore Romano.

The meeting follows previous connections between the Pope and Dylan’s work. In his book “Disarmed and Disarming: Peace Is a Gift,” Leo cited Dylan’s unpublished 1963 protest song “Go Away You Bomb” while discussing the arms race. This marks Dylan’s second meeting with a pontiff, having previously performed for Pope John Paul II in 1997.