Could the new pope, a Villanova alumnus, speak at graduation next year? ‘Very funny,’ the pope responded.

The Rev. Peter M. Donohue, president of Villanova University, dashed off an email to the new pope shortly after his selection was announced Thursday.

“I said congratulations. Maybe I could talk you into being next year’s commencement speaker?” Donohue said in an interview Friday.

The new pope, 1977 Villanova alumnus Robert Prevost, replied: “Very funny. I don’t think I’m going to be able to do that,” said Donohue.

It’s a huge security lift when the pope comes to the United States. But Donohue said he believes Prevost, now Pope Leo XIV, will visit Villanova when he does come to the United States, and if the visit coincides with commencement season, it’s a possibility.

» READ MORE: The newly elected pope sets a first for the United States — and Villanova

Before becoming a cardinal, Prevost had been at Villanova many times for religious business — the university is the headquarters for the Augustinians’ East Coast Province — and to visit his alma mater, Donohue said. The university gave him an honorary doctorate in 2014.

Prevost’s selection already has brought abundant attention to the highly selective Catholic university on the Main Line, which enrolls nearly 10,000 students. In less than 24 hours, the university has seen a significant increase in numbers across its social media platforms, including several thousand new followers, said spokesperson Jonathan Gust.

Donohue has appeared on Today, MSNBC, CBS Mornings, and Fox News, and was interviewed by the New York Times. CNN is on tap, too.

When the university won the national basketball championship in 2016, applications soared nearly 23% the following year.

» READ MORE: Villanova’s basketball fortunes aren’t the only thing on the rise. The university is more selective than ever.

Donohue is unsure if having an alumnus pope will bring a similar flood of applications, but said lots of media attention always helps.

Asked if the university will begin touting a pope alum in marketing materials, he responded: “Why not!”

Villanova already is a popular, financially strong university, so much so that it recently acquired the campuses of two other nearby Catholic colleges: Cabrini University, which closed last June, and Rosemont College, which will close in 2028. The school has plans to grow its undergraduate enrollment.

Villanova received 26,135 applications for 1,750 spots — a record — during its most recent admissions cycle.

The school, where tuition and fees top $67,000, accepts about a quarter of applicants and ranks 58th among national universities in U.S. News & World Report.

» READ MORE: Financially strapped Rosemont College will merge with Villanova University

Donohue graduated from Villanova in 1975, two years before Prevost. They knew each other as undergraduates, but Donohue was a theater major and Prevost, a math major.

“We traveled in two different worlds,” he said.

Over the years, Donohue has gotten to know Prevost.

“He’s very down to earth, very good sense of humor,” Donohue said. “He likes to know people, interact with people. He’s a good listener.”

Donohue said he knew it was a possibility that Prevost could be selected as pope because he was a cardinal and had been very close to Pope Francis. But he thought it was a long shot because Prevost was fairly young at 69, an American, and had only been a cardinal for two years.

He was pleasantly surprised when he saw the news while dining at a restaurant in Chicago where he was attending an alumni event and screamed out.

“As soon as they announced the name, I knew who they were talking about,” Donohue said.