What has Pope Leo XIV’s first year looked like? Here are 5 issues shaping his papacy so far. 08/05/2026
Today marks one year since Cardinal Robert Prevost stepped out onto the balcony of St Peter’s Basilica and was introduced to the world as Pope Leo XIV, the new head of the Roman Catholic Church. As discussed in our blog at the time, his papacy began full of both opportunities and challenges – spanning questions of territory, diplomacy, and the demands of leading a transnational church. Twelve months on, those early expectations have started to play out in real time.
Global attention on the papacy tends to peak in dramatic moments: the white smoke, the first appearance, the occasional headline–grabbing clash. But what often goes unnoticed is the sheer amount, breadth, and complexity of the role day to day.
So what has Pope Leo’s first year actually looked like? Where have opportunities emerged, and where have challenges proven more entrenched? Here, we take a look back on his first year highlighting 5 issues shaping his papacy so far.
1. External global tensions
Pope Leo has consistently used his public voice to call for peace, framing conflicts in moral terms, urging dialogue, reconciliation, and respect for human dignity. For example, on the Israel-Gaza conflict, he repeatedly urged a permanent ceasefire, the release of hostages, and safe humanitarian access, with a strong emphasis on easing civilian suffering. In his first Urbi et Orbi blessing at Christmas, he appealed to Russian and Ukrainian leaders to find the “courage” for dialogue, he has also called for a ceasefire in Myanmar, an end to the crisis in Sudan, and condemned surges of violence in Colombia. One of the most high–profile moments came amid tensions between the Holy See and President Trump in response to the ongoing war in Iran, escalating to an infamous viral social media post from the US president. The Pope responded stressing that he is not a partisan actor, while firmly reiterating his central message of peace and restraint in a volatile world. Perhaps above all, Pope Leo is trying to create a new attitude and culture of peace: “As a Church – I repeat – as a pastor, I cannot be in favour of war. And I would like to encourage everyone to make efforts to seek answers that come from a culture of peace, not hatred and division.”[i]
Multiple conflicts will continue to compete for Pope Leo’s attention and challenge his diplomatic nous significantly, many of which tread a fine line between pastorally caring for exhausted Christian communities and the kind of hard–headed diplomacy needed for peace negotiations. One is the continued relationship between the Holy See and China amid the persecution of Chinese Catholics. Others include the flight of persecuted Christians in places such as Nigeria and Syria. Further still, the ongoing dispute between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the Nagorno-Karabakh border region has much wider implications for the Church’s mission and statecraft than appears on the surface. The “questionable optics” of the Vatican receiving substantive financial aid from the Azeri government, which seems bent on erasing the presence of Armenian Christians from the region, has the potential to undermine the Holy See’s diplomatic neutrality. It would threaten to derail the significant ecumenical gains between the Church and the Coptic Catholic Churches (including the Armenian Church) from this potential appearance of bias or corruption in favour of a proscribing state. How much Pope Leo chooses to speak out on – or directly challenge – such situations may offer insight into the character of his papacy.
2. Interfaith and ecumenical bridges/barriers
In his first year, Pope Leo has engaged with ecumenical and interfaith outreach, visiting places such as the Sultan Ahmed Mosque in Istanbul and Christian communities at the Syriac Orthodox Church of Mor Ephrem during his first Apostolic Journey to Turkey, to the Grand Mosque of Algiers and engaging with Muslim communities during his recent Pastoral Visit to Africa, while also welcoming figures like the Archbishop of Canterbury to the Vatican. His approach has emphasised dialogue, harmony, and peace, reflecting the Church’s commitment to unity and solidarity with all people of goodwill, as seen in his call to “respect one another, live in harmony and build a world of peace.”[ii] However, these interfaith dialogues are more than feel good optics”; they function as vital “Track Two diplomacy”, which is a form of diplomacy that is unofficial and involving non–governmental actors, like individuals and civil society, in dialogue and negotiations to address conflict and promote peace. The importance of this type of diplomacy is especially the case for vulnerable Christian minorities in nations with governments that are actively proscribing – or at least ineffective at protecting – these minority communities. By building cordial relations with other religious actors, the Church can secure access for clergy, sustain its charitable work, and support credible local mediators in conflicts. Pope Leo’s cross–cultural experience as a bishop, along with the institutional memory of his religious order, the Augustinians, are critical to this confident offer of hospitality to dialogue partners. At the same time, however, some Catholics have expressed concern about how this outreach is perceived, particularly around language like “communion”, symbolic gestures in mosques, and shared blessings, fearing these may blur theological distinctions and exacerbate existing internal division in the Church. This highlights an ongoing tension in the Church: whether such bridge–building strengthens its witness in a divided world or risks confusion about Catholic identity.
3. Internal Church divisions
Pope Leo has had to navigate several significant internal Church tensions in his first year, adopting a careful balancing act – firm where necessary, but consistently aiming to preserve unity. One of the most closely watched disputes has been with the German bishops, where debates over governance and moral teaching, particularly around blessings, have strained relations with the Holy See. Pope Leo has intervened to clarify that while pastoral care and blessings for individuals are always possible, formalised blessings of those that the Church would see as in “irregular situations and for couples of the same sex”, as Fiducia Supplicansoutlined, go beyond what the universal Church allows. He has tried to hold a middle line: upholding Catholic doctrine while encouraging dialogue and pastoral sensitivity, offering a clearer position than his predecessor.
Another delicate challenge has been the situation with the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX), a traditionalist Catholic priestly society which celebrates the Tridentine Traditional Latin Mass. They announced plans for episcopal consecrations on 1 July 2026 without papal mandate, raising fears of excommunication or schism. Talks between the Holy See and the SSPX – handled by the controversial Cardinal Fernandez – have stalled. Recently, Pope Leo seems to have taken a more indirect, de–escalatory approach, encouraging the French bishops (where Traditionalist Catholicism has a strong presence) to seek the Holy Spirit to offer “concrete solutions” toward reconciliation. Alongside this, he has continued the reform process of Opus Dei, revising its statutes and structure, amid a backdrop of abuse allegations within Argentina and allegations of human trafficking. Throughout the process, Pope Leo has placed an emphasis on stability and dialogue rather than abrupt change.
Taken together, these issues highlight a consistent theme of his papacy so far: holding together a diverse and sometimes divided Church by means of de–escalation while promoting ecclesial unity, doctrinal clarity and competent governance. However, it remains to be seen how these tensions will ultimately play out.
4. Episcopal appointments and Extraordinary Consistories
Since the start of his papacy, Pope Leo has made over 200 episcopal appointments, quietly shaping the Church’s future leadership. While these decisions rarely make headlines, they are one of the most lasting ways a pope leaves his mark, and so far Pope Leo’s choices point to a focus on pastoral experience, global representation, and more collaborative styles of leadership. Much of this has involved filling long–standing vacancies and ensuring continuity across the global Church, including recent appointments in the UK such as Bishop Nichols Hudson to the Dioceses of Plymouth after a 3–year wait for a bishop, and the appointment of Archbishop Richard Moth to the Diocese of Westminster following the retirement of Cardinal Nichols. He has also appointed his first new Dicastery Head, Bishop Anthony Randazzo from Sydney, Australia. The Dicastery of Legislative Texts is charged with the keeping and reforming Canon Law that applies across all Catholic dioceses and people and the legal system of the Vatican City State. The choice of a fellow Anglophone Canon lawyer is notable given ongoing legal challenges, including financial crime,adult victims of abuse, investigating and penalising bishops for poor governance.
An equally quietbut telling development in Pope Leo’s first year has been his convening of Extraordinary Consistories of Cardinals, a formal meeting of cardinals. So far, he has held one – at the Vatican in January 2026 – formally bringing cardinals together for communion, fraternity, and opportunities to reflect together on the various issues that affect the life of the Church. Another Extraordinary Consistory is expected next month, reinforcing a more collaborative and consultative way of governing in the Church. However, Pope Leo is yet to make his mark on the composition of the College of Cardinals by appointing new cardinals, especially those under the age of 80 who may participate in a future papal conclave.
5. Vatican finances
The long–term financial challenges continue to be an issue for Pope Leo. After years of consecutive deficits, in November 2025 it was reported by the Secretariat for the Economy that the Vatican’s finances could be at a “turning point”. The structural deficit dropped significantly, from 83 to 44 million euros, representing a substantial reduction of nearly 50%. Increased revenue, particularly from donations and hospital income, and controlled spending has seen the Holy See go from a €51.2 million total deficit in 2023 to a €1.6 million surplus in 2024.
The spectre of the London property scandal, as we commented on last year, continues to hang over the Vatican. Resolving this is vitally important for the credibility of the Holy See’s financial integrity and solvency for both potential donors and for other financial institutions and the global banking ecosystem. It will require a response grounded in confident governance, and a commitment to enforcing the law without fear or favour. Recently, the Vatican’s Court of Appeal ordered a partial retrial in the high–profile London property finance case due to procedural issues with four papal decrees issued by Pope Francis during the investigation. These papal decrees altered procedural rules but were not publicly promulgated, which the Court found undermined the legitimacy of some investigative acts. The head of the ‘Vatican Bank’, the IOR, has also recently stepped down after 12 years of steering the bank out of a storm of incompetence, ill–repute and corruption. His successor is yet to be announced, and the continuity of Pope Francis’ financial reforms will need careful consideration by Pope Leo, given the continued resistance in certain sections of the Curia to financial oversight and transparency.
The road ahead
Pope Leo, now one year into his papacy, has had to navigate and guide an increasingly divided and uncertain world. It has required him to be deftly diplomatic calling for peace, framing conflicts in moral terms, urging dialogue, reconciliation, and the respect for human dignity. While the demands of Church governance have similarly needed a balanced and firm where necessary approach to preserve unity within the Church and reform of the bureaucratic structures for competent governance. Whether these efforts will ultimately succeed remains to be seen. What is already clear, however, is that the day–to–day job of a pope is immensely demanding with an agenda that is global, political, theological, managerial and pastoral.
Marianne Rozario, Kiara Black and Christian Santos
Kiara Black has completed an MA in International Relations on Pope John Paul II’s diplomatic relations with Mexico and the impact of his Pastoral Visits in the 1990s with the University of Notre Dame Australia. She is currently a wife and mother to three little girls and a baby boy in Sydney, Australia.
Marianne Rozario holds a PhD in International Relations exploring the notion of Catholic agency in international society through the University of Notre Dame Australia, as well as a MA(Hons) in International Relations from the University of St Andrews. She is an Honorary Researcher for the Benedict XVI Centre for Religion and Society, and a former Lecturer for St Mary’s University.
Christian Santos is a Sessional Academic at the University of Notre Dame Australia and Legal Counsel at the Australian Centre for International Commercial Arbitration. He holds a PhD in International Relations as well as a LLB and BA(Hons) in International Relations from the University of Notre Dame Australia.
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