American singer-songwriter, poet, and artist Patti Smith held a private audience with Pope Leo XIV on Friday morning, July 31, at the Vatican’s Apostolic Palace. According to osvnews.com, the meeting lasted approximately 40 minutes and was described by those present as an encounter where Smith appeared “giddy” and almost at a loss for words.
The meeting was facilitated by Smith’s friend, the Rev. Antonio Spadaro, who is the undersecretary of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Culture and Education and a former editor-in-chief of La Civiltà Cattolica. Father Spadaro characterized the audience as a conversation between two people discovering they were old friends, sharing memories of music, words, visions, and hopes. The shared connection between the two was further highlighted by the fact that both Smith and Pope Leo XIV are originally from Chicago.
Artistic Collaborations and the Venice Biennale
The private audience follows a series of recent cultural engagements between Smith and the Holy See. On May 8, which marked the first anniversary of Pope Leo XIV’s election to the papacy, Smith inaugurated the Holy See’s Pavilion at the 61st International Art Exhibition of the Venice Biennale. During that event, she performed a “sonic prayer” created in collaboration with the Soundwalk Collective, a project promoted by the Dicastery for Culture and Education, according to Vatican News.
During the Friday meeting, Pope Leo XIV expressed familiarity with Smith’s 1979 song “Wave,” which imagines a conversation with Pope John Paul I following his 33-day papacy. After Smith greeted the pontiff softly with a “Hi,” the Pope referred to the tune as marvelous
, as reported by the Associated Press.
A Longstanding Connection to the Papacy
Although Smith was raised as a Jehovah’s Witness and is not Catholic, she has maintained a long-term interest in spirituality and the Catholic church. Her history with the papacy includes:
- 2013: Meeting Pope Francis during a General Audience on April 10.
- 2014: Performing at a Vatican Christmas concert.
- 2018: Co-writing a song for Wim Wenders’ documentary Pope Francis: A Man of his Word.
- 2021: Returning for another performance at the annual Christmas concert.
Smith expressed deep admiration for the late Pope Francis, describing him as a staunch humanitarian
with a gentle, open, and steadfast sense of humanity
. Following the death of Pope Francis on April 21, 2025, Smith publicly mourned him on her Substack newsletter and social media, using a poem to describe him as humble yet strong like a dandelion
.
Broader Context and Recent Events
The meeting with Smith was the second high-profile musical encounter for Pope Leo XIV during the week; he also attended a special concert in his honor performed by tenor Andrea Bocelli on Wednesday. Additionally, on July 29, 2026, the Pope attended the Canticle of Peace
prayer and fraternity meeting at Borgo Laudato Si’ in Castel Gandolfo.
Smith’s relationship with the Vatican has also been marked by her intellectual bond with Father Spadaro. Smith wrote the preface for Spadaro’s 2026 book on Jesus, and Spadaro previously reviewed Smith’s 2025 memoir, Bread of Angels, in which he referred to her as a wild mystic
, according to osvnews.com.
