VATICAN CITY — 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, reports BritPanorama.
Then the pope, who was born Robert Prevost, said his former self might disagree.
“Prevost has another opinion, but we won’t do that now,” he said to laughs during a whooping, cheering audience of 7,000 people from both schools — players, coaches, fans, and their families — in the Vatican audience hall.
The teams were in town for the U.S. college basketball season opener in Rome. 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.
The event has been dubbed the Eternal City Tip-Off and was created to honor the first American pope.
The audience had been uncertain about the 71-year-old pope’s attendance following his lung cancer surgery on October 13; however, he made it to the appointment ahead of Sunday’s opener.
Leo graduated in 1977 with a Bachelor of Science in mathematics from Villanova, the Augustinian school near Philadelphia. He was born in Chicago — not far from Notre Dame, located in South Bend, Indiana.
Leo dribbles and poses
Leo, an avid sports fan and tennis player, dribbled a golden basketball presented to him by the Villanova women’s team. When presented with a jersey and another golden ball by the towering players from Notre Dame, Leo stepped up to the podium where his chair sits to try to gain a few inches 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 stairwell between the locker room and the stadium.
But he gave Villanova equal time, making the “V’” gesture with his hand as chants of “Let’s Go ‘Nova” erupted in the audience hall.
Sport as a way to saintliness
After mistakenly starting in Italian, Leo switched to his mother-tongue English and spoke off the cuff, recalling his childhood in Chicago, where he grew up hearing “Go Irish,” the Notre Dame chant.
“But as you all know, Prevost graduated from Villanova,” Leo said, referring to his past self in the third person.
“So the pope doesn’t take sides,” he said to laughs, before adding that “Prevost has another opinion.”
In his prepared remarks, Leo urged the teams and their families to embrace sports as a way to grow in saintliness.
“No one is born a champion, just as no one is born a saint,” he stated.
He cautioned against letting sporting rivalries escalate, hoping that fans in Rome would truly connect while cheering, “even passionately.”
“In any competition, the members of two teams, even with a competitive rivalry, are certainly not enemies,” he said. “I hope, therefore, that despite the competitive nature of college basketball, there will be opportunities for the players and fans of both teams to get to know each other in your days here in Rome.”
He noted the significance of the game occurring on All Saints’ Day, emphasizing the church’s teaching for Christians to pursue saintliness in every aspect of their lives, including sports.
“Our true goal, beyond emerging victorious in any one event, is to win the prize of everlasting life,” he added.
Leo and past popes have exalted sports
Like his predecessors, Leo has recognized the value of sport for both physical and spiritual development, calling it a “school of fraternity” that nurtures friendship, respect, and teamwork. However, he also pointed out how the win-at-all-costs mentality has led to corruption, such as doping and match-fixing.
The Rev. Robert Dowd, president of Notre Dame, admitted Villanova might have an edge in Sunday’s game, considering the pope as an alumnus. In an interview, he described the gathering of both teams and their fans in Rome for a papal audience and season opener as “amazing.”
“I know that the pope is a pope for all of us, and so I’m grateful,” he remarked. “I know, in a particular way, the pope talks about the importance of bridge building, and I’m sure he’ll be a bridge builder when we play each other.”
Villanova’s president, the Rev. Peter M. Donohue, expressed “a little extra pride” in being with Leo, given his allegiance. But he affirmed that the outcome of Sunday’s game was not the primary focus.
“No matter what happens on the court, this is the true highlight of the trip,” he said in his opening remarks. “Tomorrow we will cheer, we will compete, but today we are simply grateful.”
Philadelphia Archbishop Nelson Perez held a private Mass for traveling fans in St. Peter’s Basilica on Saturday morning, inviting thousands in attendance to applaud for the players. This English-language liturgy was notable for reflecting a papal Mass’s grandeur, celebrated at the main altar and televised live by Vatican Media.
Leo is an avid Chicago White Sox fan and has also been known to follow basketball.
When asked about the upcoming games on the papal plane during a recent trip to France, Leo said, “They tell me that the people coming to the match, 90% are Villanova and 10% Notre Dame, so the voice of the people of God will be very strong on the Villanova side.”
