One year ago, on the evening of May 8, 2025, the eyes of the world turned once again toward the central balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica as white smoke rose above the Vatican and the Church announced the election of a new Successor of Peter. That historic moment quickly became one of the most memorable in modern Catholic history. After the 12-year pontificate of Pope Francis — the first Latin American and Jesuit pope — the Church witnessed the election of another historic figure: Pope Leo XIV, the first American and the first Augustinian to ascend to the chair of St. Peter.
What immediately touched the hearts of millions that evening was not only the humility and serenity reflected on the face of the new pope, but also the deeply human and pastoral tone of his first words. For the first time in history, the faithful heard a newly elected pontiff greet the world in Spanish from the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica. Pope Leo XIV chose especially to acknowledge the people of Chiclayo, Peru, among whom he had exercised a fruitful pastoral ministry and whose affection for him remains profound to this day.
Born on Sept. 14, 1955, in Chicago, Pope Leo XIV’s life has been marked by intellectual rigor, missionary zeal and profound pastoral sensitivity. Formed spiritually within the Order of St. Augustine, he inherited from the Augustinian tradition a spirituality deeply centered on the search for truth, the interior life, fraternity and communion. The Augustinian charism, inspired by the famous words of St. Augustine — “Our hearts are restless until they rest in You” — has become clearly visible in the tone and priorities of his pontificate. Throughout this first year, Pope Leo has consistently presented the Christian life not merely as adherence to norms but as an encounter with Christ capable of transforming the human heart and society itself.
His years of academic formation at Villanova University played an important role in shaping his intellectual and pastoral outlook. There, he pursued studies in mathematics, a discipline that contributed to the methodical, reflective and analytical qualities that many observers continue to recognize in his leadership style. The historic Augustinian university near Philadelphia also deepened his theological, philosophical and spiritual formation within an environment strongly committed to the dialogue between faith and culture. Those who have followed his ministry over the years often point precisely to this combination of intellectual depth, simplicity and pastoral charity as one of his defining characteristics.
Before his election to the papacy, Pope Leo XIV served the Church in a remarkable variety of pastoral, academic, missionary and administrative roles. Following his ordination to the priesthood as an Augustinian friar, he dedicated many years to missionary ministry in Peru, where he served as pastor, seminary professor, formator, judicial vicar and diocesan official. His pastoral closeness to the faithful in Peru would later become one of the defining dimensions of his public identity.
Within the Augustinian order itself, he steadily assumed positions of increasing responsibility. He served as provincial prior of the Augustinians in Chicago before eventually being elected prior general of the Order of St. Augustine, a position he held for two consecutive terms. In that capacity, he traveled extensively throughout the world, visiting Augustinian communities across multiple continents and gaining firsthand knowledge of the pastoral realities, challenges and hopes of the universal Church.
Later, Pope Francis appointed him bishop of Chiclayo in Peru, where he became widely respected for his pastoral accessibility, administrative prudence and concern for the poor and marginalized. His leadership during moments of social difficulty and humanitarian need further elevated his profile both within Peru and internationally.
In 2023, Pope Francis called him to Rome to serve as prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops, one of the most influential offices within the Roman Curia, responsible for assisting the pope in the selection of bishops throughout much of the world. Simultaneously, he was appointed president of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America, strengthening his already deep ties with the Church across the continent. These responsibilities placed him at the center of many of the Church’s most important pastoral and administrative decisions in the years immediately preceding his election to the papacy.
During this first year of his pontificate, Pope Leo XIV has demonstrated remarkable energy through his pastoral travels and international outreach. His apostolic journeys have consistently emphasized reconciliation, dialogue and the defense of human dignity. Particularly notable has been his repeated insistence on peace at a time when the world continues to suffer from violence, war, political instability and humanitarian crises. From the ongoing suffering in the Holy Land and Ukraine to the tragedies affecting Haiti, parts of Africa and other regions wounded by conflict, the Holy Father has continuously appealed to the conscience of the international community not to surrender to hatred or indifference.
Again and again, Pope Leo XIV has insisted that authentic peace cannot be built merely through political calculations or military strength, but through justice, respect for human dignity, solidarity with the poor, and sincere dialogue among peoples and nations. His interventions have often combined diplomatic prudence with genuine pastoral compassion. He has called Christians throughout the world to become “artisans of peace,” capable of bringing mercy, reconciliation and hope into societies increasingly marked by polarization and despair. Because of such commitment to promote the genuine Gospel-based peace, he has repeatedly become the target of highly disrespectful and violent attacks by President Trump, in blunt disregard of the pope’s nobleness of heart and the historic significance of his being the first American pope in the year when America celebrates the 250th anniversary of its foundation. But that unprecedented treatment has not deterred the Holy Father in his courageous mission to remain a witness and a pilgrim of peace and compassion in a world wounded by violence and division.
Equally striking has been the pope’s pastoral closeness to ordinary people. Throughout this first year, images of Pope Leo embracing children, visiting migrants, praying silently before Marian shrines, meeting with victims of violence and spending time with the poor have become defining symbols of his ministry. His pontificate has already begun to shape itself around a vision of the Church that is missionary, compassionate, intellectually serious and deeply committed to the healing of a wounded humanity.
As Catholics throughout the world celebrate the first anniversary of Pope Leo XIV’s election, many continue to see in him a providential figure for this moment in history: a son of St. Augustine formed in the American experience, enriched by missionary service in Latin America, and now entrusted with guiding the universal Church through a time filled simultaneously with enormous challenges and profound opportunities for evangelization.
One year later, the memory of that evening of May 8, 2025, continues to resonate powerfully in the hearts of all of us. The voice that first greeted the world so gently, and even in Spanish, from the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica has since become a voice constantly calling humanity toward peace, unity, mercy and hope.
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Bishop Manuel welcomes comments and reflections from readers: bishopofpalmbeach@diocesepb.org.
