Dylan, 85, was at the Apostolic Palace while touring Italy with “Rough and Rowdy Ways.” The Vatican said the brief meeting included greetings and lighthearted remarks. Pope Leo gave the singer a rosary, and Dylan presented the pontiff with his autobiography, “Chronicles: Volume One,” according to Vatican News.
The encounter had a musical connection: Leo referenced Dylan’s 1963 anti-nuclear protest song “Go Away You Bomb” in the preface to “Disarmed and Disarming: Peace Is a Gift,” published in July 2026. The song was never officially recorded or released on an album.
Online reactions focused largely on Dylan’s all-black outfit against the pope’s white cassock. One user asked, “Why is he channeling ‘Emperor Palpatine’?” Another wrote that Dylan looked as if he had “just arrived to deliver a mysterious parcel.” A separate commenter called the meeting “The Pope meets Judas,” while one fan criticized Dylan for covering his head during the visit.
The meeting also came as Paul McCartney spoke about wanting to collaborate with Dylan. “I always think Bob Dylan. But I’m too nervous to ring him up,” the former Beatle said, according to The Blast. McCartney joked that he might open the call with, “Bob? It’s Paul.”
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