One Year of Pope Leo: Leadership, Legacy, and the Future of the Catholic Church

Jonathan Beasley: When Pope Leo XIV was elected on May 8, 2025, there were more questions than answers. Who is he? What kind of leader would he be? And how would he shape the future of the Catholic Church at a moment of global uncertainty?

A year later, we’re still getting a clearer sense of his leadership, his priorities, and the direction he’s taking the Church.

Pope Leo has positioned himself as both a continuation and a contrast—aligned with the priorities of his predecessor, Pope Francis, especially around issues like migration, inequality, and what the Catholic tradition calls the “preferential option for the poor.” But he’s also bringing a different style of leadership—more institutional, more measured, and in some ways, more strategic in how he exercises the power of the papacy.

And all of this is unfolding at a time when questions about authority, democracy, technology, and human dignity are at the center of public conversation.

So what should we make of Pope Leo’s first year? What has defined his leadership so far? 

I’m Jonathan Beasley, and this is the Harvard Religion Beat.

Today, I’m joined by Professor Raul Zegarra of Harvard Divinity School to help us make sense of this moment—and what it reveals about the future of the Catholic Church. 

Jonathan Beasley: Professor Zegarra, thanks for joining me today. Pope Leo stepped into leadership at a moment of global uncertainty—politically, economically, and within the Catholic Church itself. As his papacy has begun to take shape, what do you see as the most pressing issues facing him right now? 

Raúl Zegarra: I think that Pope Leo, indeed, is jumping to a moment a lot of questions for the Catholic Church and for the world. But I think also quite quickly he established himself and established his position in terms of how he wants to run the Vatican, the Office of the Papacy, and what kind of continuities are discontinuities he has with Pope Francis.

I think perhaps the most obvious question here is how committed Leo is, as Francis was to some key issues like social justice, immigration, what in Latin American tradition has been called the "preferential option for the poor."

On the other hand, Leo has a more diplomatic, I would say, way of dealing with the press, political authorities, and the media. He has not been shy, especially recently, with the issues going on in the U.S. about the problems of immigration, calling his bishops to be more active, protesting what's going on.

Jonathan Beasley: You have brought up Francis. And I want to stay with that thread for just a little bit, if that's OK. What elements of Pope Francis's legacy does Leo seem to be inclined to carry forward, and what might he be charting a different course in? So what's he staying perhaps close to Francis on, and then where is he going a little bit differently? 

Raúl Zegarra: I would say that Leo is fundamentally in agreement with the Francis papacy. We need to remember that it was Pope Francis who made Leo Cardinal just a few months before the election. So just for that matter, it's nice to remember that Pope Francis also brought Leo from his diocese in Peru to work in the Curia in Rome, to be the person who was vetting the bishops. So he had actually a very crucial position in the Vatican. 

And that's to show some of the closeness and the relationship. I mean, Francis saw Leo potentially as a successor. There is some Reporting on that as well. And I think both are aligned on these questions—the preferential option for the poor, justice, immigration very, very much. 

What I think there is some differences—and Leo is kind of his own person there—is that Leo, at the end of the day, is more of an institutionalist, his training. 

He was the head of the whole Augustinian order for over a decade. He has that had that position, dealing with the bishops and seeing the appointments and all related matters. So I think that Leo has this way to navigate that complex institutional church from within, that Francis, in a way, didn't write Francis was Archbishop of Buenos Aires, was a cardinal, he had, of course, some role in the Vatican as bishops, traveling and all that, but he was not working from within. And you could tell that in some of the ways Francis dealt with some of the issues. 

I think Leo is working on the same kind of commitment to transformation in social justice, but from a more institutionalist perspective and producing change from within. It's interesting to give you an example, how on questions of immigration and what's going on in the U.S. specifically, Leo has been forceful about some of his statements, but his main move has been the bishops of this country should mobilize and make statements and be clear about this. 

So he's working through the different options that the Vatican and the Catholic Church has through the local representatives who might be more capable of making relevant interventions, more powerful, perhaps, interventions, sometimes.

Jonathan Beasley: As his papacy continues to take shape, how does Pope Leo seem to understand the global church, and how that might shape his priorities going forward in the years to come?

Raúl Zegarra: Well, I think it's important to think about what you mentioned. This is a global church. This is crucial because sometimes from the U.S., we may think that some of the concerns that we have in our church here are similar to those of the church in Latin America or Africa, and that's not the case. So that creates a sense of mediation, I would say, for the papacy, where you are the head of the universal global church. 

That means that you need to speak in a way that you appeal to that global universal church. And that also means that I think that you have to navigate that with some awareness of local issues, political issues, cultural differences, and so on and so forth. So I think that Leo is quite aware of that I think relates to his more perhaps institutional understanding of the church. 

But I want to restate what I said. At the same time, there is this commitment that this notion of a preferential option for the least among us, for the most vulnerable, is not a matter of the politics of who is the new Pope, but instead is something that is understood as a core value of the gospel, a core value of the Christian tradition. And in that sense, that becomes a non-negotiable.

Leo may navigate the institutional church differently. Leo may think about questions of the liturgy or other matters differently in different way than Pope Francis. But at the end of the day, this became a non-negotiable. The idea that the church has to be there for the most vulnerable is kind of a thing that global or local stays the same.

Jonathan Beasley: Staying on the Global Church, what stood out to you about Pope Leo’s April trip to Africa?

Raúl Zegarra: I think this is quite remarkable. And I think it has to be contextualized in terms of the long missionary history of the Augustinian order and the history of Pope Leo as Robert Prevost, when he was a missionary who, as you know, went to Peru, spent most of his ministry there. 

But when he was the head of the Augustinian order, he also visited all the Augustinian missions in the world. So this was not a first time for him in Africa. He was not unfamiliar with the missions that the Augustinians have in Africa. 

So I think this tells you something about his missionary zeal. And tells you something also about where he feels more comfortable and where his heart is really at. He has been, most of the year, understandably, because there was a lot of planning and the first year of the Pope in Rome. 

But this is a guy who, most of his life, has been on the ground working with people, preaching the gospel. So I think there's something very interesting about this vibrant African Catholicism and vibrant African Christianity that tells a story of where his priorities are.

Jonathan Beasley: The images of him interacting with children, in particular, really struck me. He seems to really be appealing to and reaching out to the voices at the margins. Do you think this something that he will carry forward? Will he continue to do more on the ground outreach and engage in those of conversations and traveling?

Raúl Zegarra: I mean, he has already a few trips scheduled. One is for Peru at the end of the year. So I think there's clearly this sense of both going to areas where Christianity is very much alive, and vibrant, and growing. Because one of the things that I try to share with my students, for instance, in my class on secularization, is that there is a lot talk, especially in the US and especially in Europe, about the decline of religion and the decline of Christianity. And there's truth to that to some extent, especially in Europe. 

But that's not the story of global Christianity. The story of global Christianity is a religion that keeps growing. That's growing especially strongly in Latin America, in Africa, and some parts of Asia. And I think Leo is very attuned with that. Not that he's going to abandon the other areas, of course, but I think there is this telling a story, a different story about Christianity as a global religion.

Raúl Zegarra: Want to point out a couple of things. One is that when he visits Equatorial Guinea, which, by the way, is a Spanish speaking country, so he delivers his address in Spanish, one of the most interesting things about that visit is that he goes to a prison and preaches to people who are captive. And he basically preaches to them the message of the Gospel of Luke about liberation of the captives and how people outside love them, and care about them, and all that. 

Which is very interesting because if you think about it, this is a conversation that we don't really hear much, and especially in the U.S., it's about the dangerous criminals that are attacking here and there. And this is actually a kind of approach that is very gospel based. It's very much about the spirit of Christianity. 

It's like, yeah, there might be people here who are guilty of crimes. And they still have dignity. And they still deserve to have the gospel preached to them and a reminder of that, regardless of what they did, the Christian faith teaches us that this is people that still deserve love, care, and forgiveness. So I think that's a very important issue in terms of the kind of peace that he is preaching.

Jonathan Beasley: Before we get back to my interview with Professor Zegarra, just on a personal note—I grew up in the Chicago suburbs, on the Indiana side, not too far from where Pope Leo is from. So there’s a little bit of hometown familiarity in all of this for me.

That said, he’s a White Sox fan … and I grew up a Cubs fan. So we’ll just leave that there.

Also, if you’re interested in conversations like this one, you can find more from Harvard Divinity School through our newsletter, on social media, and in the Harvard Divinity Bulletin—our biannual magazine that explores religion and its role in public life. You can find links to each of these opportunities in the show notes.

Let’s get back to my conversation with Professor Raul Zegarra.

Jonthan Beasley: Professor Zegarra, how is the Church grappling with questions around artificial intelligence and emerging technologies? And how does that connect to the way it’s engaging younger generations? I’m thinking especially of figures like Carlo Acutis, the late young Catholic whose life and digital presence drew global attention.

Raúl Zegarra: I think that the concern of the Pope—and I would say, the concern of the last two or three popes at least—is how do we again, deal with modernity, will deal with the many technological changes that come with modernization in a way that we keep thinking about the people, the dignity of humans and nonhuman animals, for that matter, the dignity of creation, the planet, et cetera, while at the same time, acknowledging that some of these changes probably cannot be stopped, although should be regulated. 

So I think in the case of Carlo Acutis what you have is an interest in showing people that you can use technology, in this case, social media, especially, to share the joy of the gospel to share these commitments of love or the dignity of people, especially the poor and the most vulnerable. And that you can use some of these technologies for good. 

At the same time, I think the concern of Leo with AI and the dignity of labor is a reminder of whatever the innovations there are some baseline concerns that we cannot just give up on. We need to think about what does it mean for people to provide for their families to be able to afford housing and healthcare and whatnot. And whatever technology we have, if it's not taking care of that, we have a problem. 

This is, I think, deeper philosophical human questions about these kinds of technologies. Because I think at the end of the day, one crucial issue here is the question about the meaning of life, the meaning of what's to be human, which, by the way, includes also death and suffering and failure. And many of these things are very difficult to understand just using artificial intelligence. Because that element of finitude, that element of suffering, that element of joy and expectation is something very much ours. 

But that also has to be understood in the context of the protection of the dignity of people. And this is what I think the papacy, and Pope Leo particularly, trying to navigate in this complex moment.

Joathan Beasley: Speaking of complex moments, Pope Leo has spoken out frequently against the U.S. war in Iran, and against global conflict in general, and he’s referenced the teachings of the Gospels and has really preached on that. You mentioned earlier that there were some precedents for Leo’s actions. Does this feel like a continuation of what we've seen with other recent Popes? Or is he starting to stamp out his own identity on this issue?

Raúl Zegarra: So I think both, in some ways. For something I mentioned before, Popes try to be a bit cautious to the extent that they can. And this last part is important, to the extent that they can, because of the question of legitimacy. 

So I think it's important for a Pope to try to navigate the complexity of the global order and to maintain the legitimacy of being a preacher of the gospel, and the message of the Catholic Church, and mobilizing the Catholic Church to bring justice, and humanitarian aid where they can because the Pope also, and this is true for almost the whole history of the papacy, doesn't really have actual temporal power, military, or something like that. 

So it's not that they can really do much other than admonitions, exhortations. So there is that side of the story. This is why often popes are a bit cautious about denunciation of leaders directly and so on. And even in this case, as you know, the Pope has never engaged directly the president or vice president to say should not be doing this. 

Instead has asked people, call your representatives or has condemned the violence of the war, et cetera, et cetera. So there is that. But there is also cases where the Popes, very directly, will condemn specific wars and specific events because it's just the condemnation of absurd violence, unnecessary killing of people, destruction of cities, and towns, and churches, and so on. 

So I think that there is a bit of—I read it this way, at least, that the Pope starts his work a year ago or so more cautious, not as strong on some of the conflicts. But the more he gets into the position and feels more comfortable and feels more himself, he's more willing to push strongly.

Jonathan Beasley: And we’re starting to see a more assertive voice from the Pope—especially in how he’s speaking about theology and moral priorities in the public sphere. There’s also been some high-profile public back-and-forth around that in recent weeks. What do you make of that?

Raúl Zegarra: There is a moment, before those comments on theological matters, the vice president talks about how he would like to see the Pope focusing on questions of morality. 

But this is, of course, a very coded way to say, I want you to talk about abortion, same-sex marriage, and these kind of cultural war issues because that's what morality means for the vice president, and for that matter, to many Catholics in this country and others. 

And it's very interesting how the Pope addresses this matter a few days ago. It was in the plane coming back or going to Africa, but he actually said something very interesting for those who study Catholicism. He explicitly says, I think maybe for the first time for a Pope, that the church should not be focusing so much on these questions of sexual morality because they are not the priority. 

And what he's saying here is something, in some ways, very standard. Which is if you look at the scriptures of the Christian tradition, both to the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament, you don't have a lot talk about sex, same-sex relations, nothing about abortion, really, et cetera. 

What you see is a very consistent commitment to the widow, to the orphan, to the poor, to the immigrant, for that matter. Very important in this context. 

Jonathan Beasley: Just lastly here Professor Zegarra, looking back on Pope Leo’s first year, what stands out to you as the defining features of his leadership?

Raúl Zegarra: I think more and more, a very strong prophetic voice against injustice, against war. And at the same time, a lot of work behind the scenes in the Vatican to institutionalize some of the commitments of openness, of pluralism, of embrace of democracy that were charted in Vatican II, and for a variety of reasons, developed unevenly. 

He said this explicitly toward the beginning of his papacy, that one of his missions is precisely that. So I see those two fronts working together, which can be decisive. He's a very young Pope for at least papal standards. And in very good shape. He goes to the gym every day. 

So I think this is something that may define his papacy, but more importantly, may define the church for the decades to come if he's successful in his project of institutionalizing Vatican II. 

Jonathan Beasley: Professor Zegarra thank you so much for your time. 

Raúl Zegarra: My pleasure. 

Jonathan Beasley: As we mark one year of Pope Leo’s papacy, what comes into focus isn’t just a set of policy positions or headlines—but a style of leadership.

One that continues to center the dignity of the most vulnerable. One that’s navigating a truly global church, with very different realities depending on where you are in the world.

And one that’s trying to hold together tradition and change, authority and openness, in a moment when those tensions are playing out far beyond the walls of the Vatican.

Whether you’re watching the church from the inside or the outside, it’s clear that Pope Leo’s leadership is still taking shape—but the direction is becoming harder to miss.

The Harvard Religion Beat is presented by the Office of Communications at Harvard Divinity School. It is produced and hosted by me, Jonathan Beasley, and it is edited by Tyler Sprouse.  

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