Bob Dylan with the Pope: Yin and Yang in St. Peter's Square

Bob Dylan is currently traveling through Europe again as part of his Neverending Tour. Concerts on German soil are still nothing unusual for the now 85-year-old restless, seemingly indestructible world star. But on Wednesday there was a spectacular performance. The US singer-songwriter, who was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2016, was given a private audience with the Pope in the Apostolic Palace. Like in a football game, the two captains first exchanged pennants: Bob Dylan received a rosary from the Pontifex Maximus, and the Pope received his signed “Chronicles” (part one of Dylan's diaries).

It is not known whether they also sipped from the censer. But the publicly distributed photo almost looks like it. You could easily mistake it for an AI slop, or a replica of a painting in the Sistine Chapel. As always, Pope Leo wears a white cassock and smiles a satisfied smile, emphasized by the corner of his mouth that is as wide as a peanut.

“Song & Dance” man Dylan has once again pulled up the hood of his black habit, over it a robust jacket with patch pockets, the collar of a white shirt peeking out. He can't stand PR photos and so his facial features, half hidden by the hood, look slightly diabolical. He stands somewhat indecisively next to a large painted jug, holding the handle of a dark umbrella in his hand.

Dylan was already going through a “Christian phase” in the mid-1970s, which was not the highlight of his musical work. He did not perform musically on Wednesday. After a short greeting, “a few casual words” were spoken. And then we continued with “ora et labora”.