A delegation of officials representing Mississippi State University visited with religious royalty while in Italy.
The group met with Pope Leo XIV, the first American to head the Catholic Church, while visiting the future home of Mississippi State’s international programs in Rome. Mississippi State has partnered with the Pontifical University Antonianum to establish an academic collaboration, signing a memorandum of understanding in June 2025.
Mississippi State is also renovating a historic convent that will provide students a home-away-from-home while abroad. The property is owned by the Vatican through the Carmelite Order, which sees this relationship as an extension of their educational mission. By entering the agreement, Mississippi State will support an element of its own rapidly growing study abroad program.
MSU’s center in Rome was made possible by a gift from donors Mike and Laura McDaniel. The McDaniels took part in the Mississippi State delegation’s personal audience with the pope at the Vatican, where the first American-born pontiff in history was fittingly presented a special Bulldog baseball jersey. Pope Leo XIV is a native of Chicago and a well-known White Sox fan.
Other university officials greeting the pope included Mississippi State Provost and Executive Vice President David Shaw and Vice President for Development and Alumni John Rush.
“My wife and I are thrilled to support the new partnership between Mississippi State University and the Pontifical University Antonianum,” Mike McDaniel said. “This will offer Mississippi students the opportunity to experience the Eternal City for extended study periods while living university life alongside the students of the Pontifical University Antonianum. Studying and learning together means sharing each other’s experiences, improving cooperation, and global understanding.”
The center in Rome will be Mississippi State’s first venture into providing such an international facility for students and it will serve pupils from all majors across the university, officials said.
“We are deeply grateful for this wonderful opportunity that allows our students to participate in long-term study programs here in Rome. Furthermore, the generosity of Mike and Laura McDaniel will allow us to renovate this beautiful residential structure while keeping student costs very low,” Shaw said.
“Offering all of this to students at every level — regardless of their financial means — would not be possible without the partnership with the Pontifical University Antonianum and the collaboration with the Order of Carmelites, who own the facility,” he continued. “The residence can host 36 students at a time. Our expectation is to host as many as 150 each academic year. Renovation work is scheduled to begin this summer, and the first students should arrive in spring 2028.”
In addition to the latest activities, Mississippi State and Pontifical University Antonianum wrapped up an international conference in mid-March about the ethical use of artificial intelligence and the recently launched International Observatory for Integral Intelligence, Ethics, and Public Value.
The observatory was founded to bring together advanced reflection, interdisciplinary research, and institutional cooperation within a space dedicated to the ethical, legal, and cultural governance of AI in contemporary societies.