Pope Leo XIV received the American singer, poet, and artist Patti Smith in audience this Friday, July 31. She is one of the most influential figures in the punk movement and is also known for her public stances in favor of abortion and for certain lyrics that have drawn criticism from Christians.
The audience, held in the Apostolic Palace, comes just a few months after the artist inaugurated the Holy See’s pavilion at the 61st International Art Exhibition of the Venice Biennale, promoted by the Dicastery for Culture and Education. The Vatican has not provided details about the content of the meeting.
From the Vatican pavilion in Venice to an audience with the Pope
On May 8, Patti Smith led the opening of the Holy See’s pavilion with a performance titled Sonic Prayer, carried out together with the collective Soundwalk Collective in the Church of Santa Maria di Nazareth, known as the Scalzi Church.
During the event, she recited poems inspired by the Virgin Mary and the birth of Christ and performed several compositions created for the project The Ear is the Eye of the Soul, promoted by the Dicastery for Culture and Education.
Smith’s presence in the Vatican’s artistic project had already attracted attention due to some of her public positions and various episodes from her artistic career.
Controversial lyrics and support for abortion
Considered one of the pioneers of punk, Patti Smith gained international recognition in the 1970s. Among her best-known songs is Gloria, whose opening line states: «Jesus died for somebody’s sins but not mine» (“Jesus died for somebody’s sins but not mine”), a phrase that has been the subject of criticism from many Christians for decades.
This is compounded by her public support for legal abortion. In 2018, she defended the practice by stating that “saving the lives of young women is more important than any ideology,” while in 2022 she described the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn the Roe v. Wade ruling as “terrible.”
A growing relationship with the Vatican
Patti Smith’s relationship with the Vatican did not begin with Leo XIV. In 2014, she participated in the Christmas Concert organized by the Holy See during the pontificate of Francis.
After the death of the Argentine pontiff, she also gave an interview to Vatican News in which she praised his figure and stated that Christians should embrace words such as “love,” “humility,” and “compassion,” and imitate both Christ and Francis.
The audience now granted by Leo XIV represents a new gesture of closeness toward an artist whose career continues to spark division due to her public stances and certain aspects of her artistic output.