Pope Leo XIV received US-American musician Bob Dylan on Wednesday in the Apostolic Palace in the Vatican. The meeting took place in the Apostolic Library. Dylan, 85 years old and a Nobel Prize laureate in Literature, was touring Europe and currently in Italy. He appeared dressed entirely in black, with gloves and a hood, which drew attention to his appearance.
The Vatican Press Office published photos showing the smiling Pope seated at a table. Dylan was accompanied by Antonio Spadaro, Undersecretary of the Vatican's Dicastery for Culture. Spadaro described the encounter as historic on social media. No confirmed information is available regarding the content of the conversation or the exact duration of the meeting.
The visit has a substantive background. In July, the Pope referenced Dylan in a prologue to a book on disarmament and nuclear risks, quoting his previously unreleased 1963 song "Go Away you bomb". The reference to a musician in a text about nuclear weapons shows that Leo XIV uses culture as a means to speak about peace and responsibility. In July he had also received musician Patti Smith, which suggests a recurring interest in artists.
Dylan's connection to the Catholic Church is also not new. In 1997 he performed in Bologna before Pope John Paul II. Dylan is giving concerts in Rome on Thursday and in Bologna on Saturday, so the Vatican visit falls within the period of his Italy tour.
At the same time, the Pope departs on November 6 for a trip to South America, which takes him to Uruguay, Argentina and Peru until November 17. It is his sixth international foreign trip since the beginning of his pontificate, during which he will deliver 36 addresses in Spanish. Leo XIV lived for around 20 years in Peru, where he served as Bishop of Chiclayo, which gives the trip a personal connection for him. The trip's mottos differ by country; the visit to Peru includes a stop in Paysandú, Uruguay.