Villanova Days: How College Shaped Pope Leo XIV

Before he was the pope railing against a “throwaway culture,” he was Bob Prevost, a quiet and nerdy math major at Villanova University with a passion for human dignity.

Dear friend —

Happy Friday! I hope your Advent season is going well. Thank you for your incredible support — this space is open to everyone, no matter your politics or your faith.

Over the past few months, I’ve been sharing a series of deeply reported essays offering the most intimate portrait yet of Pope Leo XIV — his life and the people who know him best.

Why? Because if Leo XIV is to be the world’s most credible moral leader during this defining moment in American and global history, then we deserve to understand the nearly 70 years Bob Prevost lived before becoming the 267th leader of the Catholic Church.

These pieces take time and care to produce— so the rest of this article, and the rest in the series, will be available exclusively to paying subscribers.

Today’s essay takes us back to his college days at Villanova University, where a young “Bob” Prevost first honed the values and vision that shape his leadership now as the Vicar of Christ.

Starting on November 30, all paid subscribers have been receiving the Letters from Leo Advent Reflection Series — a daily companion to prepare for the coming of Christ at Christmas, and to reckon with what his arrival demands in a nation veering toward fascism. It’s not too late to join them.

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In the fall of 1974, sophomore Bob Prevost and the newly formed Villanovans for Life found themselves grappling with a defining question:

Who counts when we talk about the dignity of life?

Normally quiet and reserved, 19-year-old Prevost didn’t hesitate.

“Everyone,” he said. “It must include everyone.”

From that moment forward, the group’s mission extended beyond any single issue.

For Prevost, defending life meant standing with the vulnerable — not only the unborn, but also the poor, the elderly, the sick, and the forgotten.

One classmate remembers seeing him in both serious and lighthearted moments — including the time the earnest seminarian surprised everyone by showing up to a Halloween party dressed as Groucho Marx.

Still, the most important lessons Prevost learned at Villanova didn’t come from lectures or activism. They came from friendships, quiet prayer, and the daily rhythm of life in community — lessons that would shape his vocation, and eventually, his papacy.

This is the story of the future Pope Leo XIV’s four formative years at Villanova University.