Pope Leo meets with Villanova and Notre Dame basketball teams at the Vatican
CBS News • • sports
Key Points:
- Pope Leo XIV met with Villanova and Notre Dame basketball teams and thousands of U.S. fans at the Vatican ahead of their season opener in Rome, emphasizing sports as a means to promote fraternity, solidarity, and peace.
- The event, called the Eternal City Tip-Off, features men's and women's doubleheader games at the Palazzo Dello Sport, honoring the U.S.-born pope who graduated from Villanova in 1977.
- Leo encouraged players and fans to view sportsmanship as a path to saintliness and warned against letting rivalries turn into enmity, hoping the event fosters mutual respect and connection.
- A private Mass was celebrated for traveling fans at St. Peter's Basilica, with Archbishop Nelson Perez highlighting the significance of the gathering, which was televised live by Vatican Media.
- The games coincide with All Saints' Day, and Pope Leo stressed that the ultimate goal beyond competition is to "win the prize of everlasting life."
