Bob Dylan meets Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican

Pope Leo XIV met with American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan in a private audience at the Vatican on November 4, 2026. Billboard, Consequence, Rolling Stone, and Pitchfork all reported that the meeting took place in Rome, where Dylan was scheduled to play a concert at the Palazzo dello Sport. Vatican News reported that the two figures exchanged greetings and lighthearted remarks during their brief meeting, according to Consequence. [1][2][3][4]

During the meeting, Dylan presented Pope Leo XIV with a copy of his memoir, Chronicles: Volume One, and received a rosary in return, Consequence reported. Pitchfork reported that photos released by the Vatican showed Dylan wearing a hooded black sweatshirt and signing a book for the pope. Billboard and Pitchfork both reported that the Vatican shared photographs of the interaction. [1][2][4]

The meeting followed previous references by the pope to the songwriter's work. Consequence and Rolling Stone both reported that Pope Leo XIV quoted Dylan's unreleased 1963 anti-war song, Go Away You Bomb, in his book titled Disarmed and Disarming: Peace Is a Gift. Rolling Stone noted that the pope has met other prominent musicians over the past year, including Patti Smith, whom Pitchfork reported visited the Vatican in July. [2][3][4]

Dylan has had a career spanning nearly seven decades after incorporating political, social, and philosophical influences into folk music during the early 1960s. Pitchfork noted that although Dylan was raised Jewish, he converted to evangelical Christianity in 1978 and subsequently released several Christian music albums. [4][8]