The election of Robert Francis Prevost, the first American Pope in history, had ushered in a new phase in the life of the Church. Born in Chicago, but deeply attached to Peru, where he lived for over twenty years as a missionary and bishop, Leo XIV presented himself, from his very first appearance at the Loggia delle Benedizioni, as a pontiff of peace. In his inaugural address, the word “peace” recurred several times, foreshadowing what would become the central theme of his pontificate.<\/p>\n
During his first year, the Pope issued repeated appeals against war, denouncing the violence of contemporary conflicts and pointing to dialogue as the only possible path. Alongside these public appeals, the Pontiff promoted a discreet yet constant diplomacy, which he himself described as ‘behind-the-scenes’ work, to facilitate mediation and open negotiations.<\/p>\n
Indeed, faced with criticism directed precisely at his commitment to peace, rather than for blessing one faction or another, Leo XIV avoided political confrontation, repeatedly reaffirming his identity as a “shepherd” and not a politician, called exclusively to proclaim the Gospel.<\/p>\n
Among the key moments of his first year were his major international trips. The most demanding was the African tour – which he stated he wanted to be his first – taking in Algeria, Cameroon, Angola and Equatorial Guinea. At each stop, the Pontiff addressed specific issues: religious coexistence in Algeria, the tragedy of the separatist war in Cameroon, economic inequalities in Angola and the dignity of prisoners in Equatorial Guinea. Everywhere, Leo XIV emphasised the need for peace, social justice, the protection of human rights and the empowerment of young Africans, described as a crucial resource for the continent’s future.<\/p>\n
Another symbolically significant journey was that to Turkey and Lebanon, undertaken in line with the wish expressed by Pope Francis. In Nicaea, the Pontiff took part in the celebrations marking the 1,700th anniversary of the Council held there, strengthening ecumenical dialogue with Patriarch Bartholomew. In Lebanon, however, he met a population scarred by economic crisis, conflict and emigration, offering images destined to remain emblematic of his pontificate: the silent prayer before the devastated port of Beirut and the embrace with thousands of young people in Bkerké.<\/p>\n
Nor should we forget the stop in the Principality of Monaco – the first Pontiff to visit there: in this tiny state and international hub of luxury and well-being, the Holy Father bore witness to the Good Shepherd who neglects no sheep of his flock – neither the wounded nor the sick, nor the fat nor the strong (Ezek 34:16) – whilst uncompromisingly emphasising the need for a fair distribution of goods<\/strong>.<\/p>\n The many events that marked the Holy Year of Hope, opened by Francis and concluded by Leo XIV in January 2026, were significant: all occasions to show closeness and bring hope and mercy to different social groups. The highlight was the Youth Jubilee, which brought over a million young people to Rome. In his catechesis and public meetings, the Pope invited the younger generations to overcome superficiality and digital isolation, building authentic relationships and directing their lives towards lofty ideals and towards Christ.<\/p>\n In Leo XIV’s teaching, the condemnation of rearmament and the arms trade also returns with force. On several occasions, the Pope described the spiral of violence as “diabolical”, criticising the arms race and policies based on fear. Peace, he repeated, cannot be built through the domination of force but only through justice, mutual trust and dialogue.<\/p>\n Dialogue is, in fact, one of the key words of his pontificate, not only in international relations but also within the Church. Leo XIV has addressed ecclesial debates concerning the liturgy, calling for an avoidance of polarisation and for inclusive solutions to be found for the faithful attached to the traditional rite, in accordance with the conciliar guidelines.<\/p>\n The first Consistory of January 2026, convened to launch a process based on collegiality, listening and dialogue, also fits into this framework. The cardinals were called upon to reflect above all on the themes of synodality and the evangelising mission, in continuity with the legacy of Pope Francis.<\/p>\n The Pontiff made numerous references to the migration issue. Leo XIV used very strong words to denounce the treatment meted out to migrants, who, in his view, are often reduced to “rubbish” or treated “like animals”.<\/p>\n Attention to the least of these was reaffirmed in the first apostolic exhortation, “Dilexi te”, dedicated to the service of the poor and the denunciation of economic and social injustices. In the document, the Pope addresses issues such as the economy that kills, violence against women, malnutrition and the educational crisis, calling for a profound transformation of the structures that generate exclusion.<\/p>\n Alongside the social dimension, Leo XIV continued the ecumenical journey, seeking to overcome the divisions among Christians which he himself described as “scandalous”, a<\/strong>nd the commitment to Creation, a commitment lived as an act of justice towards peoples and of respect towards God the Creator.<\/p>\n Not to mention that the first year of his pontificate was also marked by a series of reforms and appointments within the Roman Curia, as well as changes to Vatican bodies and measures aimed at achieving greater shared responsibility in the economic management of the Holy See.<\/p>\n After twelve months, some clear guiding principles of the pontificate are already emerging: the centrality of the evangelical mission, diplomacy for peace, attention to the peripheries and the poor, and dialogue both within and outside the Church. The coming years, with new international trips and the forthcoming encyclical, will further define the profile of a Pope who has chosen to present himself first and foremost as the “shepherd of the world”.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The election of Robert Francis Prevost, the first American Pope in history, had ushered in a new phase in the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2027961,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1035311","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/infoans.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1035311","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/infoans.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/infoans.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/infoans.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/infoans.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1035311"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/infoans.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1035311\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/infoans.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2027961"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/infoans.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1035311"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/infoans.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1035311"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/infoans.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1035311"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}