As Pope Leo XIV concludes his first year as the first American pope on Friday, Americans shared with the Guardian how they feel about the 70-year-old pontiff who has increasingly found himself at odds with Donald Trump.
Several described his papacy as a “breath of fresh air” compared with earlier, more conservative eras of church leadership.
For Brock Horton, a 69-year-old retired public school teacher in San Antonio, Texas, the pope feels “authentic and not just an archaic mouthpiece for a failing religion”.
“Pope Leo is bringing Jesus’s teachings forward instead of church dogma … If you can’t welcome strangers and treat everyone with love and dignity, you have no place leading anyone. I will never become a Catholic, but with Leo, I see a loving person first, and a pontiff second,” Horton said.
“The fact that he lives in Donald Trump’s head is also a plus,” he added, referring to Trump’s latest attacks on the pope. » | Maya Yang | Friday, May 8, 2026
