Explainer
What links a Cold War protest song to a Vatican audience?
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On Wednesday Pope Leo XIV received Bob Dylan privately in Vatican City. On Thursday, the day after, Dylan plays the Palazzo dello Sport in Rome.
Vatican City and Rome
The thread runs back to 1963, when Dylan wrote Go Away You Bomb, a protest against nuclear weapons. He had played for a pope in 1997. Then in 2026 Leo quoted that song in a book preface, warning against rearmament and nuclear weapons. Vatican News says the audience grew out of that shared interest in the song's anti-war message.
- 1963Dylan writes Go Away You Bomb
- 1997Dylan plays for John Paul II
- 2026Leo quotes the song in a book
Jesuit Antonio Spadaro arranged the visit and wrote Today I accompanied Bob Dylan to meet Pope Leo, together with Andrea Monda. The pope gave Dylan a rosary, and Dylan gave him his memoir.
“Today I accompanied Bob Dylan to meet Pope Leo, together with Andrea Monda.”
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Pope Leo XIV receives Bob Dylan at the Vatican and gives him a rosaryRead the article
Based on reports by
- il Giornale.itPope Leo XIV meets Bob Dylan in the Vatican: the dialogue between the Pontiff and the rock Nobel laureate
- europa pressLeo XIV receives Bob Dylan at the Vatican and gives him a rosary
- Il MessaggeroPope Leo meets Bob Dylan in the Vatican, from the rock of the Blues Brothers to the minstrel of peace who sang for Wojtyla
- OpenBob Dylan and Pope Leo, the meeting in the Vatican with the fan Prevost who had already cited him in a book: what he gave him
- ANSA.itBob Dylan meets Pope Leo at the Vatican
- Tgcom24Pope Leo, the meeting in the Vatican with Bob Dylan