When Bob Dylan met Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican this week, it was a historic meeting of two American icons. But while the Pope was dressed in his traditional white robes, the legendary musician appeared to have taken his fashion inspiration from the Grim Reaper.
The 85-year-old singer-songwriter turned heads during his private audience with the pontiff on Wednesday, arriving in an extraordinary all-black ensemble featuring a hooded jacket, leather gloves and a polka-dot tie.
With his hood pulled firmly over his head, Dylan looked more like a mysterious character from Star Wars than a man paying a friendly visit to the leader of the Catholic Church.
And the internet wasted no time pointing it out.
“Why is Bob Dylan dressed like the grim reaper?” one amused observer asked, while others compared the music legend to Emperor Palpatine, the sinister hooded villain from Star Wars.
Another suggested Dylan might have misunderstood the Vatican dress code, pointing out that traditionally it is women, rather than men, who cover their heads during papal audiences.
Others were less amused, questioning whether the famously unconventional performer should have removed his hood as a sign of respect.
But Dylan, who has spent more than six decades doing things his own way, has never been particularly concerned with following convention.
Fortunately, Pope Leo appeared entirely unbothered by his visitor’s unusual wardrobe.
Photographs released by the Vatican showed the pair smiling and shaking hands inside the Apostolic Palace, with officials describing their encounter as warm and friendly.
According to Vatican official Reverend Antonio Spadaro, the two men were delighted to meet and shared an appreciation for each other’s work.
“The pope … knows Dylan’s music, and Dylan was happy to meet the American pope,” Spadaro wrote on social media.
The meeting included a brief conversation and an exchange of gifts, with Dylan presenting the pontiff with a copy of his autobiography, Chronicles: Volume One, while Pope Leo gave the singer a rosary.
The Pope, 71, is something of a Dylan admirer, having quoted the musician’s previously unpublished 1963 anti-nuclear protest song Go Away You Bomb in the introduction to a book about peace and disarmament earlier this year.
And this wasn’t Dylan’s first brush with the papacy.
Back in 1997, he performed for Pope John Paul II at a gathering of approximately 300,000 young people in Bologna, Italy.
Among the songs he performed was Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door, a particularly appropriate choice given the occasion.
Dylan, who won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2016, was in Rome as part of his ongoing Rough and Rowdy Ways tour, proving that even at 85, he has no intention of slowing down.
As for his latest fashion statement, opinions remain divided.
But one thing is certain: when Bob Dylan goes knocking on Heaven’s door, he’s apparently bringing his own dress code.
