How Pope Leo XIV is redefining the image of the first American in the papacy

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Prudent yet conciliatory, Pope Leo XIV has gradually imprinted his style on the leadership of the Catholic Church, finding his voice as he takes on some of the world’s most pressing issues, from bloody conflicts to artificial intelligence.

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When elected to lead the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics on May 8, 2025, the former Robert Francis Prevost from Chicago had on-the-ground experience from more than two decades as a missionary in Peru, as well as insider knowledge of the Vatican and Roman Curia.

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In the nearly year and a half since, Leo’s character and priorities have more clearly emerged, revealing a pope unafraid to intercede in some of society’s thorniest problems — whether trying to steer emerging technology in a more responsible direction, or exhorting leaders not to write off society’s most disadvantaged.

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After a recent spate of papal trips throughout Italy and abroad, including a visit to Africa in April and Spain in June, he will head to France next week, from September 25 through 28.

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Finding a voice

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Leo has ancestors of Spanish, Italian, Quebecois, Monegasque and Creole extraction — as well as French, which the polyglot pontiff can read.

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His paternal grandmother was born in France’s western port city of Le Havre before emigrating to the United States at the start of the 20th century.

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Soft-spoken, calm, and methodical, the pope who turned 71 this month has gradually revealed a more vocal side.

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Martin Dumont, secretary-general of the Research Institute for the Study of Religions at the Sorbonne University in Paris, said that Leo XIV “wins people over.”

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“At first he seemed almost withdrawn, and eventually we saw the character reveal himself,” Dumont told AFP.

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Being American, “he very quickly managed to grasp the codes of modern communication, which wasn’t necessarily the case with Francis,” his Argentine predecessor, he added.

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This year, he denounced corruption in speeches delivered in front of African leaders in power for decades, challenged Europe to receive, protect and integrate migrants, and defended himself against biting, personal attacks from U.S. President Donald Trump.

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‘Figure of resistance’

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Leo’s interests — tennis, swimming, and his Chicago White Sox — go hand in hand with a relaxed relationship to the modern world: he wears a smartwatch under his cassock and has engaged with teenagers, mimicking the gestures of viral 6-7 trend.

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But beyond style, the 267th pope is above all seeking to anchor his pontificate in the major transformations of contemporary society.

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Leo’s first encyclical, published in May, called for putting AI at the service of human dignity, a warning that has reverberated well beyond Catholic circles.