Bob Dylan spent his Wednesday at the Vatican, meeting Pope Leo XIV privately between Italian tour dates. The visit came two days after Dylan’s Milan show and one day before his concert in Rome. In photos from the meeting, Dylan wore a black hoodie with the hood up, a look that immediately took over the internet.
The gifts told the story. Leo gave Dylan a rosary, and Dylan gave the pope a copy of his autobiography,“Chronicles: Volume One.”But the deeper connection goes back further: Leo, born Robert Prevost in Chicago in 1955, grew up with Dylan’s music and quoted the unpublished 1963 protest song“Go Away You Bomb”in his 2026 book on peace and disarmament. Dylan, meanwhile, has long drawn on St. Augustine, the inspiration for Leo’s Augustinian order.
It’s a meeting of two American icons with very different jobs but a shared thread of faith and peace advocacy. Dylan previously performed for Pope John Paul II in 1997, so this marks his second papal encounter. What would you gift a pope, and what would you want back? Join the conversation in the comments.
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Local Lawton
Local Lawton is a contributor to LocalBeat, covering local news and community stories.