Over the years of his relationship with John Paul II, Levine became known as "the Pope's Maestro." In 1994, for his services to the Pope and to the Vatican, he was invested as a Knight Commander of the Pontifical Equestrian Order of St. Gregory the Great (KCSG), the highest Papal knighthood accorded to a non-ecclesiastical musician since Mozart. Upon John Paul II's death, Levine called him a friend and "an incredible sustenance for me." In 2005, Levine conducted a memorial concert for the Pontiff, which was broadcast on PBS. That same year, Pope John Paul II's successor, Pope Benedict XVI, honoured Levine with the Silver Star of the Order of St. Gregory the Great (KC*SG), the highest papal distinction received by a Jew in the history of the Vatican. On January 31, 2016, Pope Francis honored Sir Gilbert as a Pontifical Knight Grand Cross of the Equestrian Order of Saint Gregory the Great (GCSG). The highest rank of the order and one very rarely bestowed. He is the second artist so honored. The other is Riccardo Muti, Music Director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, who received that honor from Pope Benedict XVI in 2012.