Pope Leo meets with Villanova and Notre Dame basketball teams at the Vatican

Pope Leo XIV met on Saturday with the men’s and women’s basketball teams from Villanova and Notre Dame ahead of their season opener in Rome, a U.S.-facing event dubbed the Eternal City Tip-Off. Around 7,000 fans entered the Paul VI audience hall after a private Mass at St. Peter’s Basilica. Vatican News reported Leo, an avid tennis player, said sports can build fraternity, solidarity and peace and help bridge distances created by technology. The doubleheader is scheduled for Sunday at the 11,000-seat Palazzo Dello Sport, about a half-hour from the Vatican. Leo also urged players and families to embrace sportsmanship, warning against rivalries turning hostile. The Pope said he is recovering from lung cancer surgery, and he joked about Villanova and Notre Dame’s ties. Notre Dame president Rev. Robert Dowd called the moment “amazing.”