Pope Leo had previously referenced Dylan in his writings. In his 2026 book Disarmed and Disarming: Peace Is a Gift, the pope quoted from an unpublished 1963 protest song by Dylan titled Go Away You Bomb. The lyric quoted was: “I hate you cause yer man-made and man-owned, an’ man-handled.” The song was never recorded and was discovered in 2013. Antonio Spadaro noted that Dylan had long been familiar with St. Augustine of Hippo, the inspiration of Leo’s spirituality and Augustinian religious order. Dylan wrote a song titled “I Dreamed I Saw St. Augustine” for his 1967 album John Wesley Harding.

Dylan, who was born Robert Zimmerman to a Jewish family in Minnesota, famously converted to Christianity in 1979, a period that saw him write songs like Gotta Serve Somebody and Saved. In a 2022 interview with the Wall Street Journal, Dylan described himself as a “religious person” who reads scripture, meditates and prays. The meeting with the pope occurred between concert dates in Milan and Rome, with Dylan performing Tryin’ to Get to Heaven in his most recent show before the Vatican visit.

This was not Dylan’s first meeting with a pope. In 1997, he performed for Pope John Paul II at a religious congress in Bologna, Italy, in front of an audience of about 300,000. During that performance, Dylan played Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door and reportedly climbed the stage to shake hands with the pope and exchange a few words. John Paul II also referenced Dylan’s Blowin’ in the Wind in his sermon.

Dylan was accompanied by Rev. Antonio Spadaro and Andrea Monda, the editor of L’Osservatore Romano. Dylan, now 85, wore a black hoodie with the hood pulled over his head during the meeting, contrasting with the pope’s all-white vestments.

The meeting took place ahead of Dylan’s scheduled performance on Thursday at the Palazzo dello Sport. He performed in Milan on Monday and is playing Rome on Thursday.