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Pope Leo XIV Meets Villanova and Notre Dame Basketball Teams
Confirmed
In Short: Pope Leo XIV met with delegations from Villanova and Notre Dame university basketball teams on Saturday at the Vatican, ahead of their season opener in Rome on Sunday.
The pope, who graduated from Villanova in 1977 with a Bachelor of Science in mathematics, emphasized the importance of sports in fostering fraternity and teamwork.
"In any competition, the members of two teams, even when they have a competitive rivalry, are certainly not enemies," Pope Leo XIV said, urging the teams and their fans to embrace sports as a means of bringing people together.
Jay Wright, the former Villanova coach who led the men’s team to two NCAA championships, noted that the pilgrimage to Rome and meeting the pope was a significant event beyond the game.
Pope Leo XIV also warned against letting sporting rivalries get out of hand and encouraged the players and fans to get to know each other during their stay in Rome.
"I hope, therefore, that despite the competitive nature of college basketball, there will be opportunities for the players and the fans of both teams to get to know each other in your days here in Rome," the pope said.
The Villanova and Notre Dame men’s and women’s teams will play a doubleheader on Sunday at the 11,000-seat Palazzo dello Sport, about a half-hour drive from the Vatican.
"Tomorrow we will cheer, we will compete, but today we are simply grateful," Pope Leo XIV said.
Pope Leo XIV gamely posed for a photo with the Fighting Irish, holding the banner they gave him, and made the “V’” gesture with his hand as chants of “Let’s Go ‘Nova” erupted in the audience hall.
"Our true goal, beyond emerging victorious in any one event, is to win the prize of everlasting life," Pope Leo XIV said.
What this adds
The NCAA granted a special waiver allowing the teams to begin their seasons one day before the official opening of college basketball.
Pope Leo XIV's meeting with the basketball teams is part of a series of engagements that include a recent meeting with Bob Dylan, who presented the pope with his autobiography.
Background
Pope Leo XIV met with the basketball teams from Villanova and Notre Dame at the Vatican on Saturday, ahead of their season opener in Rome.
What's confirmed
- Pope Leo XIV meets with delegations from Villanova and Notre Dame university basketball teams Pope Leo XIV meets with delegations from Villanova and Notre Dame university basketball teams VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Leo XIV on Saturday told the basketball teams from his alma mater Villanova and fellow Catholic university Notre Dame — in Rome for their season opener — that in matters of sport, the pontiff is neutral.
- Leo graduated in 1977 with a Bachelor of Science in mathematics from Villanova, the Augustinian school near Philadelphia.
- The Villanova and Notre Dame men’s and women’s teams will play a doubleheader on Sunday at the 11,000-seat Palazzo dello Sport, about a half-hour drive from the Vatican.
- Like popes before him, Leo has praised the value of sport for both physical and spiritual development, calling sport a “school of fraternity” that nurtures friendship, respect and teamwork.
- In his prepared remarks to the crowd, Leo urged the teams and their families to embrace sports as a way to grow in saintliness.
- And when the towering players from Notre Dame presented him with a jersey and another golden ball, Leo stepped up to the podium where his chair sits to try to gain a few inches (centimeters) on them.
- He gamely posed for a photo with the Fighting Irish, holding the banner they gave him “Pope Leo, Play like a champion today” — a riff on the famous Notre Dame sign at the university’s football stadium.
- The Holy Father met with delegations from both Villanova and the University of Notre Dame ahead of the Eternal City Tip-Off taking place in Rome. | Credit: Vatican Media “Growing up on the south side of Chicago, we oftentimes heard, ‘Go Irish!’” Pope Leo told the crowd.
- Then the pope, who was born Robert Prevost, said his former self might disagree.
- Even its vaunted basketball program is getting in on the act.
- The Villanova and Notre Dame men’s and women’s teams are meeting in a doubleheader in Rome on Sunday to open the college basketball season.
What's still developing
- Augustinian Father Peter Donohue, president of Villanova, and Holy Cross Father Robert Dowd, CSC, president of Notre Dame, began the audience by addressing the Pope on behalf of their universities.
- Now his alma mater is finding new and inventive connections to his papacy.
- The NCAA granted a special waiver allowing the teams to begin their seasons one day before the official opening of college basketball.
- Pope Leo XIV is preparing to hold a private audience with basketball teams from his alma mater, Villanova, and fellow Catholic university Notre Dame, plus thousands of traveling American fans.
- The 2026-27 college basketball season is tipping off in the Eternal City.