A year has passed since Robert Prevost, now Pope Leo XIV, ascended to the papacy. Initially perceived as a figure chosen to recalibrate the papal role and reassert collegiality within a frustrated global episcopate, his profile has gradually sharpened. Working quietly, he has observed his Church, noted areas of concern, and initiated subtle yet significant changes, particularly within the American Catholic sphere, since the conclusion of his predecessor Pope Francis’s Jubilee.
A Prudent Reconstruction, Not Restoration
Pope Leo XIV’s tenure has been marked by a cautious reconstruction of balances within the Catholic world, prioritizing unity over division. His approach is neither a radical break nor a nostalgic return, but a measured re-evaluation.
The unexpected spotlight cast upon him by former US President Donald Trump’s erratic criticisms has, paradoxically, revealed a firmness and moderation previously only hinted at. These attacks, often targeting the Pope’s messages on peace, war, immigration, and the primacy of international law, have underscored a personality defined by tranquility and strength. This has debunked the initial perception of Leo XIV as a ‘Rorschach test,’ where individuals project their own interpretations onto him. Instead, it highlights the difficulty in categorizing him within outdated progressive-conservative frameworks, reflecting the radical novelty of his election.
Beyond Old Dichotomies: An American Pope for a Global Church
It would be a mistake to force Pope Leo XIV into an ‘anti-Trump’ mold. He himself has playfully acknowledged the media’s attempts to decipher his intentions, noting, “Sometimes you all give me great ideas because you think you can read my mind and my face, but you are not always correct.”
Deciphering an American citizen who, for the first time in history, has become Pope is a complex exercise, especially when he is described as “the least American of Americans.” Even New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan confessed, “I never thought of Prevost as an American citizen.” Such statements, however, merely illustrate a new phase to which even ecclesiastics are struggling to adapt. In reality, Leo XIV is profoundly American, a son of the US and, more broadly, of the Americas.
His ability to “cover all bases,” as Father Anthony Ligato of the Pontifical North American College in Rome describes it, renders debates about continuity or discontinuity with his predecessors obsolete. He transcends the old distinctions between progressives and conservatives, much as he transcends the political figure of Trump.
In New York, he appointed Ronald Hicks, a relatively unknown bishop, instead of Dolan, a “cultural warrior” unexpectedly identified by Trump as a potential pope. This decision confirms the closure of a particular era. Hicks is notably detached from the divisions that have plagued American Catholicism, representing a purely religious choice. Similarly, there was no outcry when Leo XIV returned to reside in the Apostolic Palace, restoring Casa Santa Marta, Pope Francis’s atypical residence, to its original role as a guesthouse within the Vatican walls.
Nor did anyone object when he reopened the papal residence at Castel Gandolfo, where he now retreats every Tuesday for rest and perhaps a game of tennis, or when he declared that “the Curia is the memory of the Church,” while “popes come and go.” Even the Latin Mass granted to the ultra-conservative American Cardinal Raymond Burke in St. Peter’s, after years of ostracism, passed largely unnoticed.
Reasserting Authority and Facing Future Challenges
The decision to restore a crucial role to Secretary of State Pietro Parolin was also seen as a return to normalcy. While Pope Leo XIV consistently speaks of Pope Francis with affection, he has moved beyond his predecessor’s governing style, asserting his own. After only a year, it is premature to draw definitive conclusions, but several key challenges are emerging.
The first challenge is the unity of a Church that has endured two decades of trauma: the resignation of Benedict XVI in 2015, followed by the “revolutionary” papacy of Francis. The second involves the governance of Vatican institutions that have long been under strain. The third concerns the reform of finances, which have been tested by years of imbalances and scandals. Examples include the reformed but overreaching Institute for the Works of Religion (IOR) being returned to its ordinary functions, or the commission for donations created by an ailing Francis, which Leo XIV abolished in December.
These are mere glimpses of a “Leonine peace” in its nascent stage, threatened by tremors paradoxically emanating from the United States – the country of ‘The Blues Brothers,’ the Chicago White Sox, and pumpkin pies, all of which Robert Prevost reportedly enjoys almost equally. Today, however, he observes the US from Rome, with a gaze that may be difficult to decipher, but is increasingly papal and forward-looking.
