VATICAN CITY – Pope Leo marks his first year leading the Catholic Church on Friday, May 8, with a higher public profile and a ramped-up schedule, having grown more outspoken on the world stage and drawn criticism from US President Donald Trump.

The first US-born pope, who sharply denounced war and despotism during a recent four-nation Africa tour, is expected to release his first in-depth teaching document this month and is preparing for a one-week trip to Spain in June.

Leo, who maintained a relatively low profile in his first 10 months before drawing attacks from Trump after criticizing the US-Israeli war on Iran, is also making five trips within Italy through July.

As the pace picks up, the pope is likely to sustain the more forceful tone he debuted in Africa, experts said, as the Vatican has grown concerned about the direction of global leadership.

“Pope Leo has become the singular clarion voice in our global community about the need for peace and safeguarding human dignity,” Washington Cardinal Robert McElroy, a close papal ally, told Reuters.

“(Leo) has shown an ever-growing willingness to apply the Gospel with specificity to the glaring violations of human rights that surround us,” McElroy said, referring to biblical accounts of Jesus’ life.

The pope is due to meet on Thursday, May 7, with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in his first known in-person meeting with a Trump cabinet member in nearly a year.

Rubio expects a “frank conversation” with Leo to discuss Trump administration policies, the US ambassador to the Holy See said on Tuesday, May 5, as Trump again criticized the pope on Hugh Hewitt’s radio show.

Began papacy as largely unknown figure

Leo, the former Cardinal Robert Prevost, was chosen by the world’s cardinals on May 8, 2025, to lead the 1.4 billion-member Church after a two-day conclave in the Vatican’s Sistine Chapel.

He succeeded Pope Francis, who spent much of his 12-year papacy trying to open the often traditional institution to the modern world.

Prevost, who spent decades as a missionary and bishop in Peru before becoming a senior Vatican official in 2023, was a quiet supporter of Francis but relatively unknown globally. He appeared on some lists of potential successors but was not widely seen as a leading candidate.

In his early months, Leo largely avoided contentious issues but began criticizing Trump’s hardline immigration policies in September, drawing backlash from conservative US Catholics.

After he criticized the war in Iran, Trump attacked him on social media, calling him “weak” and “terrible.”

During his 10-day Africa trip in April, the pope warned that the whims of the world’s richest threaten peace, decried violations of international law by “neocolonial” powers, and said the world was “being ravaged by a handful of tyrants.”

Leo later told reporters the speeches were written weeks in advance and were not aimed at Trump.

Visiting Lampedusa, not the US

Leo will mark his first anniversary by visiting the Italian cities of Pompeii and Naples, about 250 km south of Rome, where he will pay homage at a Catholic shrine and lead several events.

The trip is the first of five within Italy, culminating on July 4 with a visit to Lampedusa, an island south of Sicily known as a primary landing point for migrants crossing from North Africa to Europe.

The decision to visit the island on the day the US marks the 250th anniversary of its independence has drawn attention, as the Trump administration warns Europe faces “civilizational erasure” due to immigration. The visit was announced in February, shortly after the Vatican said Leo would not travel to his home country this year.

Chicago Cardinal Blase Cupich told CBS News in April that by visiting the island, the pope is “sending a message that his top priority right now is to be with those who are downcast and marginalized.”

The Vatican has not announced a publication date for the pope’s first encyclical, but it is widely expected before the end of May.

The document is expected to address key ethical challenges, including the rise of artificial intelligence, as well as ongoing global conflicts and leadership issues.

David Gibson, a Vatican expert at Fordham University, said Leo is likely to focus on universal values rather than specific leaders.

“If a particular leader feels attacked by Leo’s words, maybe that is their problem and not the pope’s,” Gibson said. – Rappler.com