After 'Knockin' on Heaven's Door', Bob Dylan Meets Pope Leo XIV at Vatican

ROME, Nov 5 : Pope Leo XIV hosted legendary American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan at his official residence, the Apostolic Palace, on Wednesday during the musician's visit to Rome as part of his Italian tour.

The brief meeting brought together two prominent figures from the American Midwest, with Dylan, 85, meeting the Chicago-born pontiff at the Vatican.

Dylan appeared in a nearly all-black outfit, wearing a pulled-up hoodie and gloves and carrying an umbrella, in striking contrast to Pope Leo's traditional white papal attire.

According to Vatican News, the Pope presented Dylan with a rosary, while the Nobel laureate gifted him a copy of his autobiography, Chronicles: Volume One.

The meeting took place ahead of Dylan's scheduled concert on Thursday at the Palazzo dello Sport in Rome, one of several Italian performances on his Rough and Rowdy Ways tour.

The meeting also carried a special musical connection. Pope Leo had previously referenced Dylan's unreleased anti-nuclear song, Go Away You Bomb, in the preface to a book titled Disarmed and Disarming: Peace Is a Gift.

The Pope quoted the line: "I hate you cause yer man-made and man-owned, an' man-handled," using Dylan's words in a warning against rearmament and the dangers of war.

Written in 1963 during the Cold War, the song was never officially recorded. Its typewritten lyrics remained unpublished until they were discovered and put up for auction in 2013, according to The New York Times.

This was not Dylan's first encounter with a pontiff.

In 1997, he was invited to perform before Pope John Paul II and an estimated 300,000 young people during the 23rd National Eucharistic Congress in Bologna, Italy.

Dylan performed four songs, including his celebrated Knockin' on Heaven's Door. During the performance, he reportedly approached the stage to greet the Pope with a handshake and exchange a few words.

Pope John Paul II subsequently referred to Dylan's iconic song Blowin' in the Wind in his sermon, connecting its message with questions of peace, freedom and human responsibility.

The latest meeting between Pope Leo XIV and Dylan brings together two influential Americans whose public lives have, in different ways, reflected on peace, humanity and the search for a better world.