CHICAGO (OSV News) — A year into his papacy, Pope Leo XIV is still enjoying popularity and rockstar-like fame, especially in Chicago, his hometown. Beyond the pop-culture interest, some of the faithful told OSV News his message of peace, dedication to the faith and outreach to young people have stood out. After Easter morning Mass, Victoria Mendez and her family stopped to talk by the heavy bronze doors of St. Rita of Cascia Catholic Church on Chicago’s South Side. The parish is run by the Midwest province of the Augustinians, the religious order that formed Pope Leo. “I think we’ve seen a lot of people fall in love with Catholicism, seeing that their pope is from Chicago,” said Mendez, 24. While anecdotal, said she has the sense Pope Leo is drawing interest in the Faith. She has observed more youth in the church since his election. She also mentioned an uptick in conversions to the Faith — not just in the U.S. but also Europe, particularly this Easter. Though none of the reports about the bump in new Catholics have tied the pope’s popularity to the numbers, several people told OSV News it may play a role. “He’s just very good with people,” Mendez said. “He’s very into creating peace within different forms of Catholicism. And he’s just so open-minded, and he cares about everybody. You see that in all his actions and everything he says and does, and the way he reflects himself. You can tell he’s really trying to bring peace on earth.” On May 8, 2025, the day of his election, from the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome, Pope Leo’s first words were, “Peace be with you all!” His message for peace has been consistent throughout the past year. And these days, it is more vehement because of the war in Iran that the U.S. and Israel began in late February. Pope Leo, born Robert F. Prevost, lived in Dolton, Illinois, until he entered the Augustinians’ minor seminary in Holland, Michigan, when he was 13. He completed an undergraduate degree in math at Villanova University near Philadelphia in 1977, earned a master’s degree from Catholic Theological Union in Chicago in 1982, the year he was ordained to the priesthood, and earned a doctorate in canon law in 1984 at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas in Rome. He then served in Peru’s impoverished northwest for nearly 20 years, where in 2015 he became bishop. He also held leadership positions in Rome, including prior general for the Augustinians, head of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America and prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops. He was elevated to cardinal in September of 2023 before being elected pope a little more than year and a half later. Born and raised on Chicago’s South Side herself, Mendez said “it makes me happy” that Pope Leo is relatable to even non-Catholics, especially as a fellow fan of the South Side-based Chicago White Sox. Mendez’s mother, Maria, said the family was drawn to St. Rita and recently began attending Mass there because of its ties to the pope. She said the papal connection and the Augustinian charism of fostering unity have made the parish very attractive. The Augustinians “approach people in a different way, that makes people come back. (It’s) the welcoming (way), their hospitality,” Maria said. The 70-year-old Pope Leo is “a happy pope,” she said, adding, “He brings happiness to every individual. Doesn’t matter the nationality or age, he’s there for everyone. Yeah, we could feel it.” On April 7, on the north side of downtown Chicago, people walked under a bright spring sun and braced themselves against strong, cold wind as they left Holy Name Cathedral following daily Mass. Tom Pyden was descending the cathedral’s steps when he told OSV News Pope Leo has “done a very good job” for the Church and the world because of “his repeated calls for peace and not backing down from that.” Pyden was in Chicago from Plymouth, Michigan, to visit his son for Easter week. Though he is not from the Windy City, he said of Pope Leo that he was “so very proud that he’s from the U.S.” “I read daily inspirational sayings from him. I think he’s very inclusive. And I don’t know him, but it seems like he has a wonderful personality that draws people together,” said Pyden, who also remarked on his possible impact on the number of new Catholics entering the Church at Easter vigil, even at his own parish. Pilar Villa of Guadalajara, Mexico, was visiting Chicago over Easter with her twin teenage daughters. She told OSV News she likes that Pope Leo has given clear messages and has dedicated time to youth and young people. “He recently talked about the importance of young people not having ties to artificial intelligence, that they should follow God and believe in God,” she said. Retired Bishop Daniel T. Turley of Chulacanas, Peru, a native of Chicago’s South Side and Pope Leo’s former Augustinian superior during his missionary work, said Pope Leo’s solid upbringing in the Faith and missionary life in impoverished Peru beset with domestic terrorism have influenced Pope Leo’s leadership. “(He) is a pope at a very time of crisis, so he brings to his papacy a great deal of balance, of joy, but also a message asking for peace, asking for non-violence, asking to respect the dignity of life throughout the world, and asking countries to search out ways of unity. And he is a pope that is trying to build bridges,” he told OSV News. Bishop Turley said having an American pope might be impacting the faithful coming into the Church or returning. He said he has celebrated numerous large-group confirmations throughout the Chicago archdiocese over the past year, and pastors at those parishes have observed increased numbers of those participating in the rites of initiation. “There’s a ‘Leo effect’ for Chicago in particular,” he said. “It’s like a ripple of the ocean, the waves, you know. So, it’s a wave of energy, happiness, joy, hope. That’s rippling through the Augustinian order. It’s rippling through the United States of America because he’s the first American pope in the history of the Church. But he’s also the first pope from Chicago. There’s a ‘Leo effect’ in Chicago, in the United States, and then in the whole world.” 5 Quotes from Pope Leo As the one-year anniversary of Pope Leo XIV’s election to the papacy approaches, here is a selection of quotes from the new pontiff on various topics. “I am a son of St. Augustine, an Augustinian, who said, ‘For you I am a bishop, with you, I am a Christian.’ In this sense we can all walk together toward that homeland that God has prepared.” — Pope Leo in his first address from the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica May 8, 2025 “Migrants and refugees remind the Church of her pilgrim dimension, perpetually journeying toward her final homeland, sustained by a hope that is a theological virtue.” — Pope Leo’s message for the October 4-5 111th World Day of Migrants and Refugees, given July 25, 2025 “Friendship with Christ, which forms the basis of faith, is not just one aid among many others for building the future; it is our guiding star.” — Pope Leo at a vigil for the Jubilee of Youth on August 2, 2025 “On the wounded faces of the poor, we see the suffering of the innocent and, therefore, the suffering of Christ himself.” — Pope Leo in his first apostolic exhortation, Dilexi Te (“I Have Loved You”), promulgated on October 9, 2025 “Peace, in fact, cannot be decreed: It must be embraced and lived. It is a gift from God, which unfolds through patient and collective effort. It is everyone’s responsibility, beginning with civil authorities.” — Pope Leo in his meeting with the authorities, civil society and diplomatic corps in Yaoundé, Cameroon, on April 15, 2026 The post One Year after Election, Americans Feel Closeness to Pope Leo appeared first on Today's Catholic. ...read more read less