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Patti Smith Reflects On Meeting Pope Leo XIV: ‘A Moment That Will Forever Produce a Smile’
Singer Patti Smith met Pope Leo XIV in a private audience at the Apostolic Palace on 31 July, an encounter she later described on Instagram as "a moment that shall forever produce a smile." The meeting underscores Smith's increasingly close relationship with the Vatican, built through her friendship with Rev. Antonio Spadaro, a senior official in the Vatican's culture ministry, despite Smith not being Catholic herself.
The roughly 40-minute conversation, described by Spadaro as feeling like two old friends reconnecting, echoed Smith's 1979 song "Wave," written about an imagined talk with the short-lived Pope John Paul I; Leo recognised the tune and called it "marvelous." Smith, who also met Pope Francis in 2013 and performed for him in 2014, wrote a tribute poem after his death in April 2025. She had earlier performed at the Vatican's Pavilion at the Venice Biennale in May, and her audience with Leo came days after the pontiff also hosted a concert by tenor Andrea Bocelli.
In short
- Patti Smith met Pope Leo XIV privately at the Vatican on 31 July.
- The 40-minute meeting echoed her 1979 song about a former pope.
- Smith has a long-standing Vatican connection, having also met Pope Francis.
Explained simply
Patti Smith is an American singer, songwriter and poet whose work often draws on religious and spiritual themes. She is not Catholic, but has developed ties with the Vatican through her friendship with Rev. Antonio Spadaro, who works in its culture ministry.
Smith has met previous popes, including Pope Francis, and her 1979 song “Wave” imagines a conversation with Pope John Paul I, who served for just 33 days in 1978. These connections help explain why her meeting with Pope Leo XIV attracted attention: it brought together a prominent artist and the head of the Catholic Church, whose cultural engagements reach beyond Catholic audiences.