Basketball brought Villanova and Notre Dame to Pope Leo XIV, who isn’t picking sides. But ‘Prevost has another opinion.’

VATICAN CITY — There were two false alarms inside the Paul VI Audience Hall. The thousands in attendance rose to their feet, cell phone cameras trained toward the back of the auditorium in the hope of catching the entrance of the pope.

The duds only built the drama for when Pope Leo XIV emerged stage right shortly after noon Saturday to a loud ovation. The cheers continued later, when four Villanova basketball players — Tyler Perkins and Matt Hodge from the men’s team, and Brynn McCurry and Jasmine Bascoe from the women’s team — presented the school’s most famous alumnus with gifts. The first American pope, formerly Robert Prevost, a 1977 Villanova graduate, took a golden basketball, faked a shot, then dribbled it before signing it.

These were the moments Villanova officials had to have in mind not long after Pope Leo was elected 17 months ago and the wheels started turning with the idea of bringing college basketball to Rome and Vatican City.

Villanova and Notre Dame will play a men’s and women’s basketball doubleheader on Sunday in Rome to kick off the NCAA basketball season at the Palazzo dello Sport. But the purpose of the Eternal City Tip-Off played out on Saturday, when Pope Leo entered the audience hall three hours after a morning Mass given by Archbishop Nelson Pérez of Philadelphia at the adjacent St. Peter’s Basilica.

The 2025 papal election has brought Villanova closer to the Vatican than ever before. On Saturday, it brought the university to the pope himself, and while he was diplomatic with his rooting interests, he made it clear that there was something, or someone, inside of him that would be pulling for the Wildcats (the pope is not expected to attend the games).

“Growing up on the south side of Chicago, we oftentimes heard, ‘Go Irish,’” Pope Leo said. “But, as you all know, Prevost graduated from Villanova. So the pope doesn’t take sides.

“Prevost has another opinion …”

That, 1978 Villanova graduate Bill Powell said, “was the best line of the whole thing. … Obviously other than his spiritual thoughts.”

Those thoughts made the weekend more than worth it, said Bill Mooney, a 1987 graduate who wouldn’t have come to Rome from New York just for a basketball game.

“It was incredible,” Mooney said. “It was moving. It was inspirational. [Villanova president Rev. Peter M. Donohue] summed it up right when he said how we came together for basketball, but we really came together to celebrate our faith. That’s what we’re really here for.”

Leo was welcomed by Donohue and Notre Dame’s president, Rev. Robert A. Dowd, and presented with gifts — Merchantville’s Hannah Hidalgo was part of the Notre Dame group — before delivering his own remarks and blessing.

“As many of us have experienced, by acting as a concrete means of bringing people together, athletics can teach the values of cooperation and mutual sharing,” said Leo, who is only a few weeks removed from being treated for lung cancer. “This is increasingly necessary in an age marked by the distance that can be created by technology. Indeed, sport is a medicine for both body and spirit when it is practiced well.

“During sporting events, there is the natural desire to cheer, often passionately, for one’s own side. It is important to remember that in any competition, the members of two teams, even when they have a competitive rivalry, are certainly not enemies. 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.”

» READ MORE: Villanova basketball’s trip to Rome is personal and professional for the Rev. Rob Hagan

The day began earlier at St. Peter’s Basilica, where all four teams and the thousands of others in attendance rose when Pérez, flanked by clergy from both schools, started his march toward the altar promptly at 9 a.m.

In his homily, Pérez said, “a game brought us together and brought us here. But it’s more than a game; it’s more than a sport.”

He then quoted Pope Leo, who “wrote about sports,” Pérez said.

“He called it life in abundance. He called sport a gift because it brings together our bodies. … Pope Leo calls sports the school of fraternity. How beautiful, right?” he said.

Like in the audience hall later, men’s and women’s basketball players participated in the Mass. Villanova’s Jake Fiegen and Kelsey Joens were among the gift bearers. Earlier, during the homily, Pérez asked all four teams to stand to be recognized.

Later, in the audience hall, a small procession shook hands with the pope before he descended a staircase to take photos with members from each university. He started stage left with Notre Dame and then turned toward the right side, made a V with his index and middle finger and pointed the V toward the crowd, which chanted “Let’s go ’Nova” as the pope stood in front of basketball coaches Kevin Willard and Denise Dillon for a photo.

Leo then called down 7-foot-3 freshman Villanova center Luigi Suigo, who’s from Tradate, Italy, and shook his hand before turning toward the aisle that cuts through the center of the audience hall.

No, he didn’t arrive through the back of the room, but those who waited until the end might’ve had a chance to shake Leo’s hand as he made his way up the walkway and exited where some thought he would enter.

The two services on Saturday “meant a lot,” said Powell, who graduated a year after Prevost, is now retired, and was in Rome from Madison, N.J.

“The entire Villanova community was really upbeat about the pope being a Villanova alum,” he said. “It met those expectations. We were pumped to see him.”

The feeling, it seemed, was reciprocated.