Pope Leo XIV meets Bob Dylan at the Vatican

A meeting of two Midwestern Bobs

Pope Leo XIV and Bob Dylan met at the Vatican on Wednesday, according to reporting by KSL and other outlets. The two men are both from the American Midwest and both go by Bob. The pope's birth name is Robert Prevost, and Dylan was born Robert Allen Zimmerman.

The two were seen meeting in the Apostolic Palace, which is the pope's residence. Leo wore his white cassock. Dylan wore a black coat, black gloves and a black hoodie.

The Vatican's newspaper confirmed the meeting. It said the pope had "received in private audience Mr. Robert Allen Zimmerman," using Dylan's birth name.

Who arranged it

The encounter was brokered by Rev. Antonio Spadaro, a Vatican official known for building bridges between the church and the wider culture. Earlier this year, Spadaro also arranged a meeting between Pope Leo and musician Patti Smith.

Spadaro described the occasion on social media. "It was hard not to feel the emotion of being part of an encounter that had a real sense of history about it, with the feeling that, at every step through the Apostolic Palace, absolutely anything could happen," he wrote.

The pope's familiarity with Dylan's songs

The 71-year-old Chicago-born pontiff is familiar with Dylan's catalog. In July, a book-length collection of his addresses and reflections was published. In its preface, Leo quoted "Go Away You Bomb," an unpublished 1963 Dylan song.

That song was an anti-nuclear protest. Pope Leo has criticized the war in Iran and has stressed the Catholic Church's opposition to nuclear weapons, according to the source reporting. The overlap in themes gives the reference some context, though the source does not say what the two men discussed in private.

Dylan's earlier encounter with a pope

Leo is not the first pope Dylan has met. In 1997, Dylan performed at a church event in Bologna, Italy, that Pope St. John Paul II attended. His set included "Blowin' in the Wind," "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" and "A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall."

John Paul II responded to Dylan's music by borrowing a famous line from "Blowin' in the Wind." He said: "You asked me: how many roads must a man walk down before you call him a man? I answer you: one! There is only one road of man and it is Christ, who said: 'I am the way.'"

What is not known

The reports do not say how long the audience lasted. They also do not say whether Dylan performed, or what was said between him and the pope. Details beyond the photographs, the Vatican newspaper's confirmation and Spadaro's remarks had not been made public in the source material.