Pope Leo
His election led to something previously thought impossible: the creation of an American pope. But his papacy has seen a period of historic tension between the White House and the Vatican, with the Augustinian friar taking office just months after President Donald Trump’s reelection.
Those who know the pope say he remains the same person, despite major changes over the past 365 days. “I don’t see a huge difference,” the Rev. Joseph Farrell, former general of the Augustinians and a friend of the pope, told CNN. “It’s still a little unbelievable to see him[as a pope]but it still makes a lot of sense. As one of our friars said to me, ‘It looks like he went to a papal school.'”
And Leo still has a sense of humor. Another friend, the Rev. Tom McCarthy, an Augustinian friar, said he hugged Leo after the election but asked him afterwards if he should have done so. “They were trying to shoot you!” Pope joked.
So what have we learned about the first American pope after 12 months in office?
Leo XIV’s style is cautious and deliberate, and as a mathematician he takes a process-oriented approach to problem solving. He is also more formal in his dress and style than his predecessor, Pope Francis, who was a subversive willing to break protocol.
But Leo is following Francis in speaking out about immigration, the environment, poverty and the death penalty. His years of experience in Peru gave him a strong sense of social justice, serving some of its poorest regions. He has described the treatment of immigrants in the United States as “inhumane” and has recently advocated for abolishing the death penalty.
“Pope Leo
But the Iran war is where the pope spoke most forcefully, taking the unusual decision to name Trump and condemn the religious justification for the conflict. The Pope’s speech during a recent trip to Africa was bold, with Leo saying in Cameroon that the world was “ravaged by a handful of tyrants” and slamming corruption.
“The only thing that weighs on him to me is the tragedy of war and the suffering that people go through,” Farrell said. “His response was very clear: The way to solutions, the way to find solutions, is not to use weapons, not to use weapons, but to disarm, disarm, and dialogue.”
Leo’s outspoken actions sparked an unprecedented conflict between the American-born pope and the president of the United States. Still, even in the face of an unusual barrage of attacks, Leo seems unfazed.
Cardinal Blaise Cupich of Chicago told CNN that this is because the pope “doesn’t see himself as a rival to the head of state,” and instead said his mission is to bring “a unique perspective that goes beyond a particular country.”
Mr. Cupich said Mr. Trump’s criticism would not bother Mr. Leo because “being irritated and distraught is a luxury he cannot afford.” Instead, the cardinal explained that the pope “intends to do the right thing” and “doesn’t intend to hedge his bets.”
The Vatican has taken on a distinctly American feel over the past 12 months, from a pope wearing a White Sox baseball cap to receiving pumpkin pie on a plane during his first trip abroad on Thanksgiving.
At the Popemobile in St. Peter’s Square, he’s been known to joke about baseball results (he’s an avid White Sox fan) and receive deep-dish pizza and slices of his favorite candy (Peeps).
Another novelty was a pope who spoke English as his native language, something not seen for centuries. While Leo’s predecessors often translated or subtitled words in English, the current pope speaks with a Midwestern accent, allowing his words and interventions to have a greater impact on English-speaking audiences.
Cupich said the pope is continuing Pope Francis’ reform vision, who advocated for a more inclusive Catholic Church that expands the role of women and non-class people. But Cupich argues that Leo also continues to work on Vatican II, the 1962-1965 gathering of bishops that laid out the blueprint for the modern church.
Francis famously said, “Who am I to judge?” regarding gay priests, but Leo also subtly reframed the question about sexuality.
“When the church talks about morality, we tend to think that moral issues are only sexual issues,” he said last month. “And I believe that the reality is that there are much bigger and more important issues like justice, equality, freedom for men and women, freedom of religion, and all of those things take precedence over that particular issue.”
The pope has indicated he does not intend to make major reforms, but is taking a gradual approach, such as appointing women to senior positions in the Vatican.
“Leo XIV’s style is measured, few words but many necessary words, and once he makes a decision, there is no going back,” Ugas said.
He also regularly meets with survivors of the clergy sex abuse scandal, insisting that “abuse in any form is unacceptable in the church.”
“He’s very tech-savvy,” McCarthy says. Leo became the first pope to be comfortable using a smartphone, wear an Apple Watch, and write his own emails. John Prevost, one of Pope’s brothers, recently told CNN’s Erin Burnett that Leo showed him how to get back on a new computer when he was “locked out.”
He has also recently been seen in Africa advising Vatican photographers on photo composition, and has previously helped cardinals and bishops get into position for photos. He was also highly media-aware and aware of what he reported, once joking to journalists, “You think you can read my mind and my face. You’re not always right.”
Meanwhile, his first encyclical, his formal letter to the world’s bishops, is expected to focus on artificial intelligence, a topic he has spoken about several times.
One of the surest ways for a pope to influence the church and its involvement in politics is to appoint bishops, and in his first year in office, Leo has selected a number of influential figures in the U.S. church.
New York has chosen Archbishop Ronald Hicks, a fellow Chicagoan who spent time in Latin America, and Salvadoran-born immigrant advocate Evelio Menjivar-Ayala to be the next bishop of Wheeling-Charleston, West Virginia. Menjivar Ayala, who entered the United States illegally in 1990 by hiding in the trunk of a car, has criticized the Trump administration’s immigration policies.
In fact, three of the first four people Leo appointed as U.S. bishops were born outside the country. Among them is San Diego Bishop Michael Pham, who came to the United States as a child refugee from Vietnam. These choices reinforced his position on immigration: that new arrivals could strengthen their new homelands if they were welcomed and integrated.
His first year in office coincides with a resurgence of interest in the church in the United States and Europe, particularly among Gen Z. His own Augustinian order has also reported an increase in young people seeking membership, something some have dubbed the “Leo effect.”
The U.S.-born pope has the opportunity to connect with a new generation who seem more willing to explore questions of faith, especially after the coronavirus lockdown that has limited worship services and at a time of heightened uncertainty.
At 70 years old, Leo is younger than his predecessors, so he can afford to endure a long battle. His first year was one of adjustment, with a focus on establishing himself in the role and turning his American roots into an asset, along with a stay in Latin America. Ugas said Leo’s perspective has three sides: “the United States, Latin America with its diversity, and the Vatican, where we have to carefully choose the battles to fight every day.”
He also focuses on his core mission as pope: to pursue peace, even if it means angering those in power.
