Bob Dylan attracted attention with his unusual outfit during a meeting with Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican on Wednesday, November 4. The 85-year-old singer met the pontiff at the Apostolic Palace during his Italian tour. His nearly all-black outfit, complete with a hood pulled up, gloves, and an umbrella, contrasted with the pope’s traditional white vestments.
Fans react to Bob Dylan’s outfit from meeting with Pope Leo
The meeting sparked reactions online after Complex shared photos of the interaction on Instagram. The post joked, “Even at the Vatican, the aura farming doesn’t stop ?” It also noted that Dylan kept his hood up while greeting the pope.
The Nobel laureate gave Leo a copy of his autobiography, Chronicles: Volume One. In return, the pope presented him with a rosary. Dylan is also scheduled to perform at Rome’s Palazzo dello Sport on Thursday, November 5, as part of his ongoing tour.
Leo has also referenced Dylan’s music in the past. In the preface to Disarmed and Disarming: Peace Is a Gift, he quoted lyrics from the singer’s unreleased anti-nuclear song, Go Away You Bomb. The lyrics included, “I hate you cause yer man-made and man-owned, an’ man-handled.” Dylan wrote the song in 1963 during the Cold War but never officially recorded it. Its typewritten lyrics remained unpublished until their discovery in 2013, when they reportedly went up for auction.
According to BBC, Dylan had previously met Pope John Paul II. In 1997, he performed before the pontiff and approximately 300,000 young people at the 23rd National Eucharistic Congress in Bologna. He performed three songs, including Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door, before approaching the papal stage to shake hands with John Paul II.
John Paul II also referenced Dylan’s hit Blowin’ in the Wind during his sermon to the audience.
