A year with Pope Leo

Leonardo de Chirico | Features | evangelicals & catholics

Date posted: 21 Jul 2026

Leo with King Charles III and Queen Camilla during the King’s visit to the Vatican, October 2025. Wearing black is the standard etiquette for non-Catholic visiting royals. Only designated Catholic Queens and Princesses are granted il privilegio del bianco (the privilege of the white), allowing them to wear white before the Pope. (photo: Wiki)

One year after his election in May last year, is it possible to discern some key themes of Leo XIV’s pontificate?

Here are three remarks.

The global geopolitical landscape

Over the past year, the American Pope has assumed a prominent “political” role on the global stage. It was predictable that the clash with Trump would erupt sooner or later, given the President’s combative temperament. And so it did. Preceded by Leo’s criticism of the handling of the deportation of undocumented migrants, the conflict with the US administration erupted over the war in Iran. Trump has repeatedly criticised the Pope, and the Pope has responded in kind.