A year ago Friday, Chicago-born Cardinal Robert Prevost became Pope Leo XIV — the first U.S.-born pontiff — and began his papacy with four words that would come to define much of his first year: “Peace be with you.”
In Illinois, there was pride about his Chicago roots, excitement for his White Sox loyalty and eagerness to hear stories from friends and family who grew up with him.
As the months progressed, Pope Leo spoke on many issues, particularly regarding President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdowns and, later, the war in Iran.
Elected as first U.S. pope
The election of Pope Leo XIV left Chicago abuzz for months .
Born in Chicago, raised in Dolton, Pope Leo, leaned into his Windy City roots from Day One.
There was speculation about restoring and/or reopening his childhood church, St. Mary of the Assumption on the Far South Side.
Almost a month into his papacy, the pope delivered his first address to a U.S. audience, via video link to a Mass held at Rate Field, home of the Sox.
“As you offer your own experience of joy and of hope, you can discover that you, too, are indeed beacons of hope,” the pope said to the 30,000 worshippers.
Names Carlo Acutis first millennial saint
Furthering the plans of his predecessor, Pope Francis, Leo canonized the first millennial-era saint, Carlo Acutis, who died at 15 from leukemia.
Besides teaching catechism in a parish in Italy, Acutis had used his tech skills to create an online exhibit of more than 100 eucharistic miracles recognized by the church over many centuries.
Folks at Blessed Carlo Acutis Parish in Chicago, now renamed St. Carlo Acutis Parish, celebrated the official canonization in September. The Bucktown parish is the only one in North America named after the young saint.
Speaks out against Operation Midway Blitz
During Trump’s immigration crackdown in Chicago, which began last September , the pontiff said he was troubled by the violent and at times “extremely disrespectful” ways migrants have been treated in the U.S.
“We have to look for ways of treating people humanely, treating people with the dignity that they have,” Leo told a group of reporters in November. “If people are in the United States illegally, there are ways to treat that. There are courts. There’s a system of justice.”
Gov. JB Pritzker and his wife, MK, met with the pope after those statements. The Pritzkers gave him a piece of artwork from an incarcerated immigrant woman as well as beers labeled “Da Pope.”
Calls for peace abroad
During his first foreign trip of the papacy in late November, Leo championed for a two-state solution between Israel and Palestinians, saying it was the only way to resolve the conflict.
On the same trip, the Holy Father urged Turkey to act as a force for stability and peace amid the Israel-Hamas and Russia-Ukraine wars. Leo also traveled to Beirut and praised the Christian and Muslim coexistence in Lebanon.
Awards Nobel Prize of Theology to Riccardo Muti
Riccardo Muti, an Italian-born maestro, spent more than 10 years as Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s music director, becoming music director emeritus in 2023.
Pope Leo awarded Muti the Ratzinger Prize, also known as the Nobel Prize of Theology, both for his musical achievements and in celebration of Muti’s friendship with Pope Benedict, who established the theology, philosophy and arts award in 2011.
Disagrees with Pritzker on assisted suicide bill
The pope said he was “very disappointed” that Illinois approved a law allowing medical assisted suicide after “explicitly” urging Pritzker to “respect the sacredness of life” and not sign the bill.
Pritzker said he signed the bill because he had been moved by stories of patients suffering from terminal illness .
Feuds with Trump over war
Most recently the pontiff has gone toe-to -toe with Trump, continuing to speak out against the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran and calling for peace.
In April, Trump took to social media, writing that Leo was “WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy.”
The pope said the president’s threat to wipe out “a whole civilization” was “really not acceptable.”
After Trump posted a now-deleted AI-generated image depicting Trump as Jesus healing a sick man, Leo responded directly..
“I’m not afraid of the Trump administration or of speaking out loudly about the message of the Gospel, which is what the Church works for,” Leo said. “We are not politicians. We do not look at foreign policy from the same perspective that he may have.”
Trump later said the image portrayed himself as a doctor,
Pritzker posted a photo with Leo and wrote that “The Pope lifts his voice as part of a higher calling.”