Pope Leo XIV Meets Bob Dylan at Vatican Months After Quoting His 1963 Anti-Nuclear Protest Lyrics
The meeting followed the Pope's reference to Dylan's unreleased 1963 song 'Go Away You Bomb' in a book about peace and nuclear weapons
Pope Leo XIV met Bob Dylan at the Vatican's Apostolic Palace on Wednesday, 4 November 2026. The private audience came months after the Pope quoted the musician's 1963 anti-nuclear protest lyrics in a book about peace.
The Chicago-born pontiff previously referenced Dylan's unreleased song, 'Go Away You Bomb', in the preface to Disarmed and Disarming: Peace Is a Gift. Published on 21 July 2026, the collection addresses peace, global rearmament and the dangers of nuclear weapons.
Both men have Midwestern roots. Leo, born Robert Francis Prevost, grew up in Chicago, while Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, comes from Minnesota. Their clothing offered a contrast: the Pope, 71, wore his white cassock, while the 85-year-old musician appeared in a black hooded sweatshirt.
Inside the Private Vatican Audience and Gift Exchange
According to Vatican News, the encounter was brief, consisting of greetings and a few lighthearted exchanges. The Pope presented Dylan with a rosary, while the Nobel Prize-winning musician gave him a copy of his autobiography, Chronicles: Volume One.
The meeting was facilitated by the Rev. Antonio Spadaro, a Jesuit priest and Vatican official known for connecting the Catholic Church with cultural figures.
Today, #November4, 2026, #BobDylan was received in audience by Pope Leo XIV. Together with the editor of L'Osservatore Romano, I accompanied him to the Apostolic Palace. The meeting had the feel of history about it, and at every step I had the sense that anything could happen.… pic.twitter.com/LYg4tcVaaQ
— Antonio Spadaro (@antoniospadaro) November 4, 2026
Spadaro, who previously accompanied musician Patti Smith to an audience with Leo, described Wednesday's meeting as an emotional experience.
Vatican officials have not disclosed what the two discussed privately, and there is no official confirmation regarding whether music or political themes arose during Wednesday's meeting.
Pope Leo XIV's Reference to Dylan's Nuclear Lyrics
Their meeting carried particular significance because of the Pope's earlier reference to Dylan's anti-nuclear writing.
In the preface to Disarmata e disarmante. La pace è un dono, published by Libreria Editrice Vaticana and edited by journalist Alessandro Banfi, Leo quoted a line from 'Go Away You Bomb'.
'I hate you cause yer man-made and man-owned, an' man-handled,' Dylan wrote.
Written in 1963 amid Cold War tensions, the song was never officially recorded, with its typewritten lyrics resurfacing at a 2013 auction.
Leo used the words to underscore his concerns about nuclear weapons and the global arms race.
Dylan's Previous Encounter With Pope John Paul II in 1997
Wednesday's audience was not Dylan's first encounter with a Catholic pontiff.
On 27 September 1997, the musician performed before Pope John Paul II during the 23rd National Eucharistic Congress in Bologna, Italy.
Vatican News estimated that approximately 300,000 young people attended the gathering, although contemporary reports gave differing crowd figures.
Dylan performed three songs: 'Knockin' on Heaven's Door', 'A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall' and 'Forever Young', according to contemporary reporting by UPI.
John Paul II also referenced Dylan's 'Blowin' in the Wind' during the event, drawing on the song's question about the road a person must travel. The pontiff answered by declaring that the path for humanity was Jesus Christ, giving the familiar protest song a religious interpretation.
Nearly three decades later, Dylan returned to a papal audience during another Italian visit. His official tour schedule listed a concert at Rome's Palazzo dello Sport for Thursday, 5 November, as part of the Rough and Rowdy Ways tour.
© Copyright IBTimes 2026. All rights reserved.