Jelly Roll perform on stage during the Stand Up To Cancer Telecast 2025 at The Pinnacle on August 9, 2025 in Nashville. / Pope Leo XIV greets the pilgrims from the dioceses of Umbria, in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican, Sept. 13, 2025.

If a meet up between this country music star and the new head of the Catholic Church was on your 2025 bingo card, you may be the only one.

Jelly Roll and Pope Leo XIV recently met face-to-face in a photo shared on Instagram by the "Need a Favor" rapper on Sept. 12. The image shows the Tennessee musician, whose real name is Jason Bradley DeFord, wearing a black coat with a beaming smile as he shakes hands with the bishop of Rome.

"From rock bottom to holy ground," Jelly Roll wrote in the post's caption before citing Bible verse Matthew 18:20: "For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them."

The gathering comes as the Grammy-nominee was among several artists slated to perform during the Grace for the World concert at Vatican City's St. Peter’s Square on Sept. 13. The lineup also includes big names like Pharrell Williams, John Legend, Jennifer Hudson, Karol G and Teddy Swims.

Pope Leo XIV, a Chicago native, was elected to the papacy on May 8 after the death of Pope Francis on April 21.

Throughout his career Jelly Roll has incorporated faith into his songwriting with tracks like "Son of a Sinner" and "Jesus Hear My Cry."

He's also not shied away from meeting global leaders. In November he was seen greeting President Donald Trump at Madison Square Garden following the 2024 election. The meet up prompted backlash that he addressed in a Dec. 16 episode of his wife's "Dumb Blonde" podcast.

"There's not a chance in hell I'm not going to meet the president-elect," he said. "If I would have gotten a call to go meet with Joe Biden at any point, I would have stopped what I was doing to go meet him. That's the active president! I wouldn't have cared what people thought, even what I think, about his policies."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Pope Leo XIV greets rapper Jelly Roll in newly shared photo

Reporting by Anthony Robledo, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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