Pope Leo XIV meets Bob Dylan at Vatican, exchanges rosary and autobiography

Pope Leo XIV received American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan in a private audience at the Vatican on Wednesday, November 4, 2026. The meeting took place in the Apostolic Palace during Dylan's visit to Italy for a series of concerts.

Dylan, whose birth name is Robert Allen Zimmerman, is 85 years old. He is currently touring Italy as part of his Rough and Rowdy Ways Tour, with upcoming performances in Rome, Milan, and Bologna. He is scheduled to perform at Rome's Palazzo dello Sport on Thursday, November 5.

“I hate you because it made man and man owns you and man handles you.”

The two men exchanged brief words and symbolic gifts during the audience. Pope Leo XIV gave Dylan a rosary, while Dylan presented the pontiff with a copy of his autobiography Chronicles: Volume One, originally published in 2004.

Dylan wore a black hooded sweatshirt with the hood pulled over his head during the meeting. He also carried an umbrella and wore black leather gloves, according to reports. His outfit drew comparisons on social media, including references to a Star Wars antagonist.

Father Antonio Spadaro, subsecretary of the Vatican Dicastery for Culture and Education, facilitated the audience and described the encounter as deeply moving. He noted that the meeting created a special atmosphere inside the Apostolic Palace.

The meeting follows a prior connection between the two men. In July 2026, Pope Leo XIV quoted Dylan's anti-war poem Go Away You Bomb in the preface of the book Disarmed and Disarming: Peace Is a Gift, published by the Vatican Publishing House. The poem was written in 1963 during the Cold War and remained unpublished until its manuscript was rediscovered in 2013.

The content of their conversation was not disclosed by either side.