Patti Smith sat down across from Pope Leo XIV at his desk in the Apostolic Palace on Friday, July 31. When she took her seat, she greeted him simply. "Hi," she said softly.
After the meeting, Smith posted about the encounter on Instagram. "This is a moment that shall forever produce a smile," she wrote, according to Billboard.
Smith wore a crucifix necklace and her trademark braids for the meeting. She has become an increasingly visible presence at the Vatican through her friendship with the Rev. Antonio Spadaro, undersecretary in the Vatican's culture ministry. Spadaro joined Smith at Friday's audience.
Smith has said that while she is not Catholic, she was drawn in particular to Pope Francis and his "gentle, open, and steadfast sense of humanity." She met Francis in 2013 and sang for him in 2014. When he died on April 21, 2025, she wrote a poem on social media comparing Francis to a dandelion, "humble yet strong." She also wrote, "Nature and poetry and the suffering shall miss their champion."
Smith also has a notable connection to Pope John Paul I. Her 1979 song "Wave" is about a make-believe conversation with the pope who died after a 33-day papacy. The song begins with the words "Hi. Hi." spoken in a breathy voice, the same greeting she used with Leo on Friday. Leo appeared to be familiar with the song. "That was marvelous," he said.
Spadaro described the roughly 40-minute encounter between the two Chicago natives in a text message. He said it "felt more like a conversation between two people discovering they were old friends, sharing memories woven from words and music, dreams, visions, and hopes — both from yesterday and for today." At the end of the meeting, Smith said "Bye. Bye."
Earlier this year, Smith performed during the inauguration of the Holy See's Pavilion at the Venice Biennale contemporary art fair on May 8, which was the anniversary of Leo's election. The audience with Smith was Leo's second encounter with a music legend that week. On Wednesday, he attended a concert in his honor by tenor Andrea Bocelli.
