House of David Star Meets Pope Leo XIV in Rome

Michael Iskander, the 25-year-old actor who plays King David in the Prime Video series House of David, met Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican on 31 October 2026. The next day he led thousands in prayer before the Notre Dame–Villanova basketball games in Rome on 1 November.

Think about that for a moment. A young actor, still early in his career, standing before the Pope with a sling from his television show in his hands. Then, hours later, standing before a roaring arena crowd and asking thousands of basketball fans to bow their heads and pray. It was a weekend in Rome that Iskander will not forget, and neither will the people who watched it happen.

Iskander called the experience an extraordinary honour. He said meeting the Holy Father and leading the prayer at the Tip-Off Game in Rome on behalf of Hallow had been deeply meaningful for him personally. The words were measured, but the moment behind them was anything but ordinary.

A Sling for the Pope

Iskander did not arrive empty-handed. He presented Pope Leo XIV with a sling from the show, the simple weapon David used against Goliath, and the object that has become the visual shorthand for the whole series. It was a gift that carried the story of David into the room, and the Pope received it warmly.

On Instagram, Iskander wrote: "Pope Leo you are a role model to me! Thank you for everything you do!" The message was short and direct, the kind of thing a 25-year-old writes when the moment is bigger than the words available for it. Fans flooded the post with comments, many of them noting how unusual it is to see a young Hollywood actor speak about the Pope with such open admiration.

The meeting came at a busy time for the Vatican. Pope Leo XIV had also received Bob Dylan at the Apostolic Palace, as covered in Today: Pope Leo XIV Meets Bob Dylan at the Vatican and Gives Him a Rosary, and the week showed a Pope comfortable welcoming figures from far outside the usual circles of Church life. Iskander's visit fit that pattern, and it carried a different kind of weight: a young actor whose most famous role is a biblical king.

Leading Thousands in Prayer Before Tip-Off

The basketball games were the reason Iskander was in Rome at all. Notre Dame and Villanova played their season openers in the Eternal City as part of the Eternal City Tip-Off, and Hallow, the prayer app, was an official partner of the event. Iskander led the pregame prayer on Hallow's behalf, standing before thousands of fans who had come for basketball and found themselves part of a moment of prayer instead.

Leading a crowd in prayer is a different skill from acting. There is no script, no second take, and no character to hide behind. Iskander had to be himself, in front of a live arena, asking strangers to pause and pray. By every account from the weekend, he did it with the same sincerity he brought to the Vatican meeting the day before.

The setting made the moment richer. Rome is a city where faith and sport have shared the same streets for centuries, and a prayer before a basketball game in the Eternal City carries echoes that a prayer in an American arena would not. For the Notre Dame and Villanova fans who travelled to Italy, the pregame prayer became one of the stories they took home.

From Egypt to Full Communion

Iskander's own faith journey gives the weekend its deeper meaning. He was born in Egypt and raised Coptic Orthodox, and in August 2025 he entered full communion with the Catholic Church. He described the step as answering a calling from God, a phrase that suggests a decision made slowly and deliberately rather than in a rush.

That journey from Coptic Orthodoxy to Catholic communion is a path many Christians know well, and it is not a small one. It involves study, prayer, and a willingness to let one tradition deepen into another. For Iskander, it happened just as his acting career was taking off, which makes the timing all the more striking. He did not wait until fame was secure to make a public step of faith.

His story sits alongside other public testimonies of faith in the entertainment world. Country singer Chase Rice: I Choose Jesus After Childhood Abuse Trauma spoke about choosing Jesus in the moment shame creeps in, and South African rapper Cassper Nyovest Credits Jesus for His Amazing Life credited Jesus for his amazing life. Iskander's version of that story runs through Cairo, a Coptic childhood, a Catholic communion, and now a meeting with the Pope.

Iskander is now in Greece filming season three of House of David, and the show's audience will be watching to see how the story of the young king continues. The role that brought him to the Vatican is the same role that will keep him busy for months to come, and the Pope's blessing on the project, in the form of that meeting, is something the show's fans will remember.

There is also a bigger question hanging over the weekend. What does it mean when a 25-year-old actor leads thousands in prayer before a basketball game, and the crowd joins in? It suggests that public faith, spoken plainly and without apology, still has an audience, even among people who came for sport and stayed for prayer.

For now, the image that remains is a simple one: a young man in Rome, a sling in his hands, a Pope smiling at him, and thousands of voices joining him in prayer the next day. Whatever season three brings, that weekend in the Eternal City will be hard to top, and Iskander knows it.

But the most surprising part of this story is yet to come — keep reading.