American singer-songwriter and Nobel Prize winner Bob Dylan visited the Vatican on Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2026, for a brief private meeting with Pope Leo XIV. The encounter took place during a break in Dylan's current concert tour in Italy, which included a performance in Milan on Monday and a scheduled show in Rome on Thursday.
The meeting, described by Vatican officials as brief, saw an exchange of gifts between the two. Pope Leo XIV presented the musician with a rosary, while Dylan offered the pontiff a copy of his autobiography, "Chronicles: Volume One."
The Pope has previously referenced Dylan's work in his own writing. In his 2026 book, "Disarmed and Disarming: Peace Is a Gift," Leo quoted lyrics from "Go Away You Bomb," an unpublished protest song written by Dylan in 1963. The Pope utilized the lines, "I hate you cause yer man-made and man-owned, an' man-handled," to warn against nuclear weapon proliferation and the global arms race.
Dylan was accompanied to the Vatican by two officials: the Rev. Antonio Spadaro, a member of the Vatican culture ministry, and Andrea Monda, editor of the Vatican newspaper, L'Osservatore Romano. Spadaro noted that the meeting was requested by Dylan. In an essay for the newspaper, Spadaro recalled that the Pope, born Robert Prevost in Chicago in 1955, grew up listening to Dylan’s music. He further highlighted the connection between the singer and St. Augustine of Hippo, who serves as the inspiration for the Pope's spirituality and religious order; Dylan notably wrote the song "I Dreamed I Saw St. Augustine" for his 1967 album, John Wesley Harding.
During the meeting, Dylan, who received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2016, was photographed wearing a black hoodie with the hood over his head and a loose tie. This visit marks another chapter in Dylan's history with the papacy; he previously performed for Pope John Paul II in 1997 at a religious congress in Bologna.
Regarding his personal faith, Dylan has maintained a more private stance in recent years. In a 2022 interview with the Wall Street Journal, he described himself as a "religious person" who engages in meditation, prayer, and the reading of scriptures. At his recent concert in Milan, Dylan performed his 1997 track, "Tryin' to Get to Heaven," which contains the lyrics, "I've been all around the world, boys/Now I'm trying to get to heaven before they close the door."
