Pope Leo XIV received participants in a pilgrimage from the American universities of Villanova and Notre Dame this Saturday, October 31, in the Paul VI Hall at the Vatican. The group is in Rome for a series of academic and sporting activities, including basketball games between their respective teams scheduled for Sunday. The Pontiff used the occasion to highlight the educational value of sport and to recall that the true goal of the Christian life is not an earthly victory, but holiness and eternal life.
On the eve of the Solemnity of All Saints, Leo XIV emphasized that «no one is born a champion, just as no one is born a saint», and explained that holiness requires «daily training in love». In his address, the Pope also noted that sporting rivals are not enemies and encouraged the young people to experience competition as an opportunity to cultivate fraternity, solidarity, and peace. He likewise pointed to the example of Saint Pier Giorgio Frassati, patron of athletes, and recalled that Christians are called to run the race of life in order to obtain «an incorruptible crown of glory».
Below we offer the full address of Pope Leo XIV, translated into Spanish:
Address of Leo XIV to the participants in the pilgrimage of the universities of Villanova and Notre Dame
Paul VI Hall, Saturday, October 31, 2026
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Peace be with you.
Dear friends:
I am pleased to welcome you all to the Vatican as part of your pilgrimage to Rome. In particular, I greet Father Peter Donohue, President of Villanova University, and Father Robert Dowd, President of the University of Notre Dame, together with the students, faculty, staff, alumni, and benefactors of these two academic institutions who are present.
During your visit, numerous activities are taking place, including, of course, the basketball games scheduled for tomorrow between the teams of your universities. In this regard, given the enthusiasm and widespread interest these encounters generate, we can appreciate the potential of sport to play an important role both in the life of an academic community and in society at large.
Various Christian authors throughout the centuries, including several of my predecessors, have pointed to the numerous positive effects that come from participation in sporting activities. In this sense, in recent years, especially through the voice of the popes, the Catholic Church «has proposed a vision of sport centered on the dignity of the human person, on his integral development, on education, and on relationships with others, highlighting its universal value as a means of promoting values such as fraternity, solidarity, and peace» (Letter Life in Abundance, February 6, 2026).
As many of us have experienced, by constituting a concrete means of bringing people together, sport can teach the values of cooperation and mutual sharing. This is increasingly necessary in an age marked by the distance that technology can create (cf. Homily on the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity, Jubilee of Sport, June 15, 2025). Indeed, «sport is a medicine both for the body and for the spirit, when practiced well» (Address to the members of the Italian Swimming Federation, June 25, 2026).
During sporting events there is a natural desire to cheer, often passionately, for one’s own team. It is important to remember that, in any competition, the members of two teams, even when there is sporting rivalry between them, are certainly not enemies (cf. Letter Life in Abundance). I therefore hope that, despite the competitive nature of college basketball, during these days in Rome there will be opportunities for players and fans of both teams to get to know one another.
Providentially, your visit takes place on the eve of the solemnity on which the universal Church venerates «in a single celebration the merits of all the saints» (Roman Missal, Collect of the Solemnity of All Saints). On All Saints Day we remember that God calls everyone to be holy. Indeed, Saint Peter emphasizes that, since the Lord himself is holy, we too must be holy in all our conduct (cf. 1 Pet 1:15). We are therefore invited to ensure that all aspects of our lives, including our sporting activities, help us to love God and neighbor. For several saints, among them Pier Giorgio Frassati, patron of athletes, sport was an important component of their lives. Their lives, as well as those of many holy men and women, remind us that no one is born a champion, just as no one is born a saint. On the contrary, holiness demands daily training in love (cf. Homily on the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity, Jubilee of Sport).
In this regard, Christians are called to run the race of life with the goal of winning an incorruptible crown of glory (cf. 1 Cor 9:24-25). I pray that the activities that form part of your pilgrimage, especially your visits to the tombs of the Apostles, who gave their lives in defense of the faith, may serve to remind you that our true goal, beyond emerging victorious in any competition, is to attain the prize of eternal life.
Dear friends, with these thoughts I thank you once again for your presence and I entrust you all to the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Saint Augustine, Saint Thomas of Villanova, and Blessed Basil Moreau. To you and to the members of your university communities I gladly impart my apostolic blessing. Thank you.