New | Francis becomes first pope to land a Rolling Stone cover

Pope Francis is taking his place alongside the icons of American popular culture by appearing on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine, which hits newsstands on Friday.

It is the first time the staunchly liberal rock-music bible has featured a Roman Catholic pontiff on its cover, which is typically graced by pop stars and movie idols.

“Pope Francis: the times they are a-changin’,” reads the cover headline that borrows the title of Bob Dylan’s classic early 1960s anthem.

The Argentine-born pope, who took office in March last year, has previously been Time magazine’s Person of the Year.

He also made the cover of The Advocate, the respected US gay rights magazine. In an accompanying 8,000-word profile, seen on its website Wednesday, Rolling Stone hailed the pontiff’s relaxed style and his less aggressive stance on such hot-button issues as homosexuality compared to his two predecessors.