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Pope Leo XIV welcomed around 7,000 team members, students, and fans from Villanova University and the University of Notre Dame at the Vatican Saturday morning, the day before both schools’ men’s and womenʼs teams will kick off the college basketball season in a historic doubleheader.
Fans of all ages packed into the Pope Paul VI Audience Hall in Rome for an audience with the pope, who is himself a Villanova graduate.
Pope Leo XIV greets visitors at the Vatican, Oct. 31, 2026. 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. “But as you all know, Prevost graduated from Villanova. So, the pope doesn’t take sides. Prevost has another opinion, but we won’t do that now,” he added, to cheers from the Villanova supporters.
The Nov. 1 event, called the Eternal City Tip-Off, will open the 2026-27 college basketball season for the Division 1 teams. Organized as a collaboration between Fox Sports, On Location, and Players Era, inspiration for the event came from Leo’s election as the first American pope.
Leading up to the Sunday games, supporters of both universities — including alumni, faculty, staff, students, and fans — were able to participate in a special Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica along with the papal audience.
Father Peter Donohue, OSA, president of Villanova, and Father Robert Dowd, CSC, president of Notre Dame, began the audience by addressing the pope on behalf of their universities. Four student-athletes from each school then presented the pope with gifts, including commemorative basketballs, jerseys, and a special prayer for athletes written by the late Holy Cross Father Theodore Hesburgh, a past president of Notre Dame.
Pope Leo XIV greets visitors at the Vatican, Oct. 31, 2026. 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.
Pope Leo drew laughs and cheers from the crowd when he began to dribble the basketball offered by Villanova team representatives.
The pope then addressed the gathered fans, speaking about a “vision of sport” proposed by the Catholic Church centered on “the dignity of the human person, on his or her integral development, on education, and on relationships with others.”
He pointed out that the games will take place on the feast of All Saints’ Day, saying that the occasion was a valuable reminder “that God calls everyone to be a saint. … We are invited, therefore, to ensure that every aspect of our lives, including our athletic endeavors, will help us to love God and our neighbor.”
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