Taking stock of Pope Leo XIV’s first year in the papacy

After months of settling into his pontificate, Pope Leo XIV is taking a measured approach to leadership, distinguishing himself from his predecessor Pope Francis who implemented rapid reforms early in his tenure. While Leo has made several significant decisions that indicate his governing style, he appears to be taking a longer-term view of his papacy.

Several upcoming leadership appointments will offer Leo the chance to reshape the Church hierarchy according to his priorities. Chicago Cardinal Blase Cupich, who surpassed the standard retirement age of 75 two years ago, may soon be replaced, giving Leo the opportunity to name a new archbishop for his hometown. Similarly, Los Angeles Archbishop José Gomez turns 75 in December, opening another significant appointment.

The pope has already appointed Archbishop Ronald Hicks to succeed Cardinal Timothy Dolan in New York. According to Michael Moreland, professor of law and religion at Villanova University, Leo’s alma mater, this choice “didn’t ideologically code dramatically one way or the other,” reflecting Leo’s measured approach to leadership decisions.

At the Vatican, several key positions may soon change hands. British Cardinal Arthur Roche, who heads the liturgy office and enforced Francis’s controversial restrictions on the traditional Latin Mass, turned 76 recently. His eventual replacement will be closely watched as an indicator of Leo’s stance on this divisive issue.

American Cardinal Kevin Farrell, though well past retirement age at 78, continues to lead the Vatican’s family and laity office while serving in other sensitive roles. Additionally, Canadian Cardinal Michael Czerny turns 80 in July, making him ineligible to vote in the next conclave. This will reduce the number of voting-age cardinals to 117, below the usual threshold of 120, suggesting Leo may soon announce his first class of new cardinals.

Pope Leo has already made several notable policy adjustments to Francis’s initiatives. In April, he canceled the World Day of Children, an event whose purpose had raised questions. He also dissolved a Holy See fundraising commission established during Francis’s final weeks, replacing it with a new committee to develop more functional fundraising structures.

“The Holy Father was clearly paying attention,” noted Ward Fitzgerald, president of The Papal Foundation, a group of U.S. donors who fund papal charity projects. “He realized that it was not going to be highly functional.”

Leo further modified Francis’s financial policies by issuing a law allowing the Holy See’s investment committee to use banks outside the Vatican when financially advantageous, reversing his predecessor’s concentration of financial power in the Vatican bank. He has also engaged with clergy abuse survivor activists, promising dialogue on implementing worldwide zero-tolerance abuse policies, a departure from Francis’s approach of keeping advocacy groups at arm’s length.

The pope’s private audiences provide insight into his interests and concerns. He has met with figures representing various perspectives within the Church, including Gareth Gore, author of a critical book about Opus Dei; representatives from Courage International, an organization helping people with same-sex attraction live chastely; and authors who conducted a survey about Catholics who attend the traditional Latin Mass.

Two significant challenges loom on the horizon. On July 1, four new traditionalist Catholic bishops from the breakaway Society of St. Pius X are scheduled to be consecrated without Leo’s consent, potentially forcing him to address a schismatic act that could result in automatic excommunication.

Simultaneously, the Vatican faces a potential break with the German Catholic Church over reforms that would create a joint decision-making body of bishops and lay Catholics, contradicting Catholic governance traditions. German proposals to formalize blessings for same-sex couples, which Francis had permitted only informally, also face Vatican opposition.

Looking ahead, Pope Leo’s first encyclical, expected in the coming weeks, will address artificial intelligence and related peace and justice issues. Leo has compared the AI revolution to the labor rights concerns addressed by Pope Leo XIII in his landmark encyclical “Rerum Novarum.”

“Like his namesake Leo XIII with the Industrial Revolution, Leo clearly sees the church as having something important to offer in an era of what may turn out to be epochal technological change,” observed Dan Rober, associate professor of Catholic studies at Sacred Heart University.