Pope Leo XIV will present inaugural Villanova University sustainability award created in his name

Susan Snyder, The Philadelphia Inquirer on Jul 20, 2026

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Pope Leo XIV will present a new Villanova University-created award in his name that recognizes outstanding leadership in sustainability at a conference in Italy in October, another sign of the school’s close ties to the pontiff.

It will be several weeks before Villanova and Notre Dame officially open their basketball seasons in Rome with a men’s and women’s doubleheader on Nov. 1.

While Villanova has had a longstanding relationship with the Vatican, including an internship program that sends students there every year, both events signify the Catholic university’s deepening relationship with the Vatican and Italy since Pope Leo, a Villanova graduate, became pope last year.

In 1977, Pope Leo, then known as Robert Prevost, earned a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Villanova and in 2014 received an honorary doctorate from the university.

The medal winner — an international honor — will be announced in September and then presented in October at the university’s International Sustainability Conference, Responding to the Cries of the Earth and the Poor, in Castel Gandolfo near Rome, the school said. The conference, which is expected to draw 300 participants including academics, church representatives, and leaders from the public and private sectors, will be held Oct. 12 to 15.

It is the university’s second sustainability conference, the first to be held in Italy. Its first conference in 2024 was on Villanova’s campus.

“The Pope Leo XIV Sustainability Medal reflects a deeply held belief at Villanova University: that care for our common home and care for one another are inseparable,” the Rev. Peter M. Donohue, Villanova University’s president, said in a statement. “By recognizing leaders whose work advances both environmental stewardship and the common good, we hope to inspire meaningful and lasting impact in communities around the world.”

The award, which will be a biennial honor, will recognize those who have advanced “sustainability, ecological responsibility and integral human development,” the school said. It specifically will highlight those who excel at “integrating care for the environment, social justice, concern for vulnerable populations, and responsible stewardship of economic and natural resources.”

The winner can come from any field or discipline and will be selected by a committee of members of the university’s Sustainability Leadership Council. The award includes a monetary component, but details are still being determined, a university spokesperson said.

The medal will feature Pope Leo on one side and Villanova University’s name on the other and is meant to highlight the pope’s commitment to sustainability, the school said.

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