Vatican News shared an official snap from the extraordinary meet-up, in which Dylan can be seen wearing his trademark black hoodie, with Pope Leo all in white. Sourced online from the Vatican News by Tracy Cabrera
ROCK legend Bob Dylan officially met Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican during a private audience held between the religious leader of the world’s biggest church and the iconic singer-songwriter yesterday, November 4.
The 85-year-old ‘Like a Rolling Stone’ hit-maker is currently touring across Europe and the United Kingdom on his 2026 Rough and Rowdy Ways Tour and between his shows in Milan and Rome, the star found time to stop at the Vatican to visit the first American Pope.
The Vatican’s official outlet described the meeting as “brief, consisting of greetings and a few lighthearted exchanges.”
The singer and religious leader also swapped gifts, with Leo presenting Dylan with a rosary and Dylan, in turn, giving the pontiff, erstwhile Chicago-born Robert Prevost, a copy of his autobiography ‘Chronicles: Volume One’, which was originally released in 2004.
Notably, Pope Leo had previously made it evident that he was a fan of Dylan’s songs, quoting the lyrics of the singer’s ‘Go Away You Bomb’ in the preface to a book on disarmament.
Vatican News also recalled Dylan having met with Pope John Paul II in 1997, when he was invited to perform alongside other artists at the 23rd National Eucharistic Congress in Bologna.
After finishing the performance for around 300,000 people, Dylan “removed his cowboy hat, climbed the steps to the papal stage and exchanged a handshake and a few brief words with John Paul.”
Dylan will follow up his special meeting with the pope with a show in Rome tonight at the Palazzo dello Sport.
His current tour will conclude across five nights at the Royal Festival Hall in London, with shows set to stretch between December 3 and 8.
Though the setlist often changes, he is likely to play plenty of songs from his most recent album, Rough and Rowdy Ways.
