APTOPIX Vatican Pope US Universities
Pope Leo XIV examines a basketball he received as a gift in the Paul VI Hall at the Vatican, Saturday, Oct. 31, 2026, during an audience with some 7,000 university representatives and supporters from Villanova University and the University of Notre Dame, including members of their men's and women's basketball teams, ahead of the Eternal City Tip-Off, a men's and women's college basketball doubleheader in Rome on Nov. 1.
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Pope Leo XIV has told the basketball teams from his alma mater, Villanova, and fellow Catholic university Notre Dame that in matters of sport, the pontiff is neutral. But in a raucous audience of 7,000 players, fans and their families, the former Robert Prevost laid bare his true feelings. He said “Prevost has another opinion." 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 Sunday at the 11,000-seat Palazzo dello Sport — which is located about a half-hour drive from the Vatican.
