Dylan visits Vatican between concerts

Bob Dylan met with Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican on Wednesday.

The American songwriter and poet visited the pontiff during a pause in his Italian concert tour. The Vatican described the meeting as brief. Leo gave Dylan a rosary. Dylan presented the pope with a copy of his autobiography, "Chronicles: Volume One."

The connection between the two figures stretches back to 2026. Leo quoted Dylan in his book, "Disarmed and Disarming: Peace Is a Gift." The quote came from an unpublished 1963 song, "Go Away You Bomb." Leo used the lyric to caution against the return to nuclear arsenals. The specific line referenced a bomb that is man-made and man-owned.

Rev. Antonio Spadaro, a Vatican culture ministry official, accompanied Dylan to the audience. Andrea Monda, editor of L'Osservatore Romano, was also present. Spadaro stated that Dylan requested the private meeting. The two spoke for several minutes. Spadaro noted in an essay that Leo, born in Chicago in 1955, grew up listening to Dylan. He also pointed out Dylan's familiarity with St. Augustine, a figure central to Leo's spirituality. Dylan wrote "I Dreamed I Saw St. Augustine" for his 1967 album, John Wesley Harding.

Dylan, who won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2016, wore a black hoodie and a loose tie during the visit. Vatican photos showed him with his hood up. This was not his first interaction with the papacy. He performed for Pope John Paul II in 1997 in Bologna. The concert concluded a religious congress. Dylan, born Robert Zimmerman to a Jewish family in Minnesota, converted to Christianity in 1979. He later described himself as a religious person who reads scripture and prays.

The meeting occurred between two of his concert dates in Italy. He performed in Milan on Monday. He is scheduled to play in Rome on Thursday. In his most recent show before the Vatican visit, Dylan sang "Tryin' to Get to Heaven." The song includes lyrics about trying to reach heaven before the door closes.