Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
Pope Leo XIV receives American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan during a private audience at the Vatican. Alamy Stock Photo
the vatican
Bob Dylan gives Pope Leo his autobiography during private audience
Dylan is currently on tour in Italy.
BOB DYLAN STOPPED by the Vatican on Wednesday for an audience with Pope Leo XIV, the first ever US pope.
The 85-year-old American singer-songwriter wore a large black zip-up hoodie to the audience – and kept the hood up for the official photographs of the private meeting.
Dylan is currently on tour in Italy, with his first of three live shows taking place this evening in Rome.
A report on the official Vatican News website said the meeting was “brief, consisting of greetings and a few lighthearted exchanges”.
The pope gave Dylan a rosary and the singer gifted Leo his autobiography, the report said.
The pope quoted a Bob Dylan lyric in the preface to a book about disarmament published earlier this year, according to Vatican News. The 71-year-old has taken strong anti-war positions on several conflicts and has clashed with Donald Trump on occasion over this stance.
Dylan previously met the late Pope John Paul II in 1997 when he sang at a prayer vigil in Bologna.
Additional reporting by AFP
have your say