Pope Leo XIV’s First 100 Days: A Listening Papacy In The Making
(ANALYSIS) The first 100 days of a U.S. president’s term are a widely recognized milestone, often scrutinized for signs of momentum, direction or policy implementation. But the same metric, when applied to a newly elected pope, serves a very different purpose.
Without a political platform or campaign promises, a pope enters office without the expectations of an electoral mandate — yet still under the global spotlight. For Pope Leo XIV, the 100-day mark, which falls on Aug. 16, offers insight not into what he has done, but into how he is preparing to lead.
Elected on May 8, Pope Leo stepped into one of the most complex and scrutinized spiritual roles on the planet. In this early phase of his papacy, Leo has resisted the temptation to immediately exercise his supreme authority — a power canon law makes clear he could wield from the moment of his election. He has to-do list over the coming months, including implementing much-needed financial reforms.
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For the time being, Leo has chosen to listen. In his first few weeks, Leo’s pontificate has been marked by a quiet – yet deliberate – engagement with the College of Cardinals and key Vatican officials, signaling a leadership style rooted in consultation rather than control.
“The pope is obviously a man comfortable in his own skin. He’s friendly. He’s a good listener. He thinks before he speaks,” said George Weigel, a journalist and Catholic analyst. “People aren’t on edge the way they were in the previous pontificate a lot of the time. So, yes, it’s a honeymoon period — but it is a honeymoon period that I think bespeaks, I hope, a calmer Catholic discussion of the Catholic future, not only in the United States but around the world.”
Unlike Pope Francis’s penchant to bend the office to his person, this pope appears bent on accommodating his person to the office he has assumed.
“Help us, one and all, to build bridges through dialogue and encounter,” Leo said in his first speech as pope.
That set the tone for what came over the following three months. This approach has shaped public perception of the new pope, the first ever born in the United States. He has not issued sweeping reforms or headline-making declarations. Instead, he’s reaffirmed his commitment to the path laid out by the Second Vatican Council — a path that includes missionary conversion and engagement with the modern world. These priorities, which echo the foundational principles of his predecessors, suggests that Leo’s papacy will not be revolutionary, but evolutionary.
Pope Leo has shown that his first 100 days are not about what can be done quickly, but about laying a foundation for what may be a long and consequential papacy. Whether that foundation will eventually support significant reform, doctrinal clarity or structural innovation remains to be seen. If the first 100 days are any indication, Pope Leo XIV is beginning his papacy not with the force of authority, but with the power of attentive leadership.
Pope Leo’s pontificate — one that could last decades — is unique in many ways. As stated, he is the first U.S.-born pope, a fact that has drawn significant media attention. But Leo’s experience is global — shaped by years of service as a missionary in Peru and then as a senior official at the Vatican.
This diverse background may be key to understanding his careful, globally-minded start to his pontificate. He seems acutely aware of the church’s universality and the challenges of leading it in an age of digital media and political polarization. In fact, he has made meeting with young people a priority over the past few months.
“We are closer than ever to young people who suffer the most serious evils, which are caused by other human beings,” Leo said on Aug. 3 to a gathering of one million pilgrims outside of Rome. “We are with the young people of Gaza. We are with the young people of Ukraine, with those of every land bloodied by war. My young brothers and sisters, you are the sign that a different world is possible. A world of fraternity and friendship, where conflicts are not resolved with weapons, but with dialogue.”
A recent Gallup poll shows Pope Leo enjoys a favorable rating of 57% among Americans (higher than any world leader), closely mirroring the early popularity of both Pope Francis and Pope Benedict XVI. Among self-identified Catholics, the number is even higher at 76%. These figures suggest that, even without dramatic gestures or policies, Pope Leo has already established credibility and goodwill.
Known as a reserved man, Pope Leo has gradually become more comfortable in the public eye. His weekly general audiences in St. Peter’s Square show a pope increasingly at ease with large crowds, often spending hours engaging with pilgrims, blessing babies and meeting with numerous visitors.
His multilingual fluency — switching effortlessly between English, Spanish and Italian — has become a bridge to diverse audiences, particularly younger Catholics, as seen during the Jubilee of Youth and the gathering this summer of digital Catholic influencers.
Looking ahead, the most significant signs of Pope Leo’s leadership style and agenda items have yet to happen. For now, however, he has made listening and working with others a priority.
Clemente Lisi is the executive editor of Religion Unplugged.