On May 8, 2025, history was made in the Sistine Chapel. Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost — a Chicago-born Augustinian priest and missionary — emerged onto the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica as Pope Leo XIV, the first American to lead the Roman Catholic Church in its 2,000-year history.
One year later, the world is still learning who this pope is. And what it has found may surprise those who expected a quiet, careful caretaker papacy.
Who Is Pope Leo XIV?
Born Robert Francis Prevost on September 14, 1955, in Chicago, Illinois, Leo XIV spent decades as a missionary in Peru before rising through the ranks of the Augustinian order. Pope Francis made him a cardinal in 2023 and head of the powerful Dicastery for Bishops — the Vatican office responsible for selecting bishops around the world.
When Francis died on April 21, 2025, few outside Vatican circles had Leo on their shortlist. His election on the fourth ballot of the 2025 conclave — concluded in just two days — stunned many observers. “The prospect of an American pope had seemed impossible,” one cardinal told journalists, citing the United States’ military and economic dominance as a long-standing barrier.
Yet here he is. And after 12 months in office, here is what his papacy has looked like.
The Biggest Moments of Pope Leo XIV’s First Year
1. A Quiet Start — Then a Loud Awakening
Vatican insiders described Leo’s first months as deliberately measured. He listened more than he spoke, continued initiatives left by Pope Francis — including the closing of the 2025 Jubilee Year — and focused on internal governance. In January 2026, he convened an extraordinary consistory of cardinals, the first since 2014, fulfilling a promise to include them as genuine advisors rather than ceremonial figures.
Observers noted a stylistic shift from his predecessor: less street theatre, more institutional deliberation. But 2026 has made clear that Leo XIV is far from silent.
2. The Iran War and His Unflinching Call for Peace
The defining geopolitical crisis of Leo’s first year has been the 2026 Iran War, initiated by the United States and Israel. From early in the conflict, the pope spoke repeatedly and clearly: bombing must stop, weapons must fall silent, and diplomacy must prevail.
At an Easter Sunday Urbi et Orbi blessing, Leo urged world leaders to “lay down their weapons and choose peace.” He warned of a “delusion of omnipotence” driving military action and declared: “God does not bless any conflict.”
His message was unmistakably directed at the powerful — and the powerful noticed.
3. The Trump vs. Pope Feud That Shocked the World
In April 2026, as Leo was on an 11-day Africa tour, U.S. President Donald Trump posted a blistering social media attack, calling the pope “WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy.” He also suggested Leo should be “thankful” for his election, implying the pope owed his position to Trump’s influence.
Trump additionally posted — then deleted — an AI-generated image of himself depicted as Jesus Christ, sparking widespread outrage in religious communities.
Leo’s response from the papal plane was swift and unambiguous: “I have no fear of the Trump administration or of speaking out loudly about the message of the Gospel. That is what I am here to do.”
The confrontation was unlike anything in modern papal history. Pope John Paul II opposed the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003 — but did so through diplomatic channels. Leo XIV, the first American pope, spoke to an American president in plain, direct language, and did not flinch.
4. The Africa Journey: A Papacy That Found Its Voice
Leo’s April 2026 trip through Algeria, Cameroon, Angola, and Equatorial Guinea — eleven days, four countries, eighteen flights — is widely regarded as the moment his papacy came fully into focus.
In Bamenda, Cameroon — a city ravaged by an ongoing separatist war — he stood before 100,000 faithful and declared: “The world is being ravaged by a handful of tyrants, yet it is held together by a multitude of supportive brothers and sisters.”
An Anglophone separatist alliance declared a three-day ceasefire in honor of his visit — the first in years in a conflict that has killed over 6,500 people. In Equatorial Guinea, he stood feet away from an authoritarian president and his convicted son, and preached without softening a syllable of Catholic social teaching.
Vatican journalists noted that the man who left Rome was described as “quiet.” The man who returned was something else entirely.
5. A Return to Catholic Tradition
Liturgically, Leo XIV has signaled a shift. On Holy Thursday, he washed the feet of 12 Roman priests — reverting to the traditional form rather than Pope Francis’s practice of washing the feet of immigrants and prisoners. On Good Friday, he personally carried the cross at the Colosseum’s Stations of the Cross, something no recent pope has done.
At his first Mass in the Sistine Chapel, he chose a ceremonial staff made for Pope Benedict XVI, prompting some to speak of a symbolic “return to order.” Others caution against reading too much into liturgical choices. The broader picture, they say, is of a pope who combines traditional form with prophetic content.
What Makes Leo XIV Different from Pope Francis?
The Italian saying goes: “After a fat pope, a thin pope” — meaning each papacy tends to correct the excesses of the one before it. Leo XIV has adopted a different governing style from Francis in several clear ways:
- Consultation over solo decisions: Leo gathers cardinals regularly, something Francis did less frequently.
- Quieter gestures, louder words: Francis was famous for dramatic symbolic acts. Leo makes fewer symbolic moves but speaks more directly on geopolitics.
- Institutional focus: Leo has prioritized Vatican governance reform and the role of the College of Cardinals as genuine advisors.
- Continuity on core issues: On migration, environmental protection, and care for the poor, Leo has continued Francis’s direction.
One Vatican insider summarized it this way: “Francis made you feel. Leo makes you think.”
What’s Coming Next: The AI Encyclical and Beyond
Leo XIV’s most anticipated move is the release of a major social encyclical on artificial intelligence — one of the most significant papal documents in decades. He signaled its coming almost immediately after his election, explaining that his choice of the name “Leo” was in homage to Leo XIII, who wrote the landmark Rerum Novarum on labour rights in 1891. The new encyclical is expected to draw a direct line from that document to the age of AI, addressing automation, human dignity, labour displacement, and the ethics of machine intelligence.
Leo is also scheduled to continue his international travel, with further trips expected across Europe and Latin America in the coming months. The one-year anniversary of his election on May 8, 2026 is expected to be marked by special ceremonies at the Vatican.
Why the World Is Watching
Pope Leo XIV leads a Church of 1.5 billion Catholics at a moment of extraordinary global turbulence: an active war in the Middle East, rising authoritarianism, the disruption of AI, and a United States in the midst of its 250th anniversary and a political culture war.
He is the first pope in history to have grown up in the same country as a U.S. president, and that dynamic has produced one of the most unusual relationships in modern geopolitics. He is simultaneously an American and a global figure whose loyalty is, by definition, to no nation.
Whether you are Catholic or not, what Leo XIV says and does matters. He is one of the most prominent moral voices on the planet — and in his first year, he has shown he intends to use that voice.
Frequently Asked Questions About Pope Leo XIV
Who is Pope Leo XIV?
Pope Leo XIV, born Robert Francis Prevost in Chicago in 1955, is the 267th pope of the Roman Catholic Church and the first American pope in history. He was elected on May 8, 2025, following the death of Pope Francis.
Why did he choose the name Leo XIV?
He chose the name in homage to Pope Leo XIII, who wrote the landmark 1891 encyclical Rerum Novarum on workers’ rights. The current Leo XIV has signalled a new social encyclical — likely focused on artificial intelligence — is coming in the same tradition.
What is the dispute between Pope Leo XIV and Donald Trump?
The dispute centres on the 2026 Iran War. Leo has repeatedly called for peace and condemned the use of religious imagery to justify military action. Trump responded by calling the pope “weak on crime” and “terrible for foreign policy” on social media. Leo stated publicly that he has “no fear” of the Trump administration and will continue to speak the Gospel message.
Is Pope Leo XIV conservative or progressive?
He is broadly considered a moderate — continuing Pope Francis’s emphasis on the poor, migrants, and environmental protection, while restoring some traditional liturgical practices. He has maintained that women cannot be ordained as priests but has shown openness to the question of female deacons.
When is the one-year anniversary of Pope Leo XIV’s election?
May 8, 2026 marks exactly one year since Pope Leo XIV was elected in the Sistine Chapel. The Vatican is expected to mark the occasion with special celebrations.
Sources: Encyclopaedia Britannica, America Magazine, NPR, Wikipedia
