Pope Leo XIV has completed his first year as head of the Roman Catholic Church with a far more assertive global profile than many in the Vatican once imagined. Elected on a promise to be “a pastor before a politician,” the first US-born pontiff now finds himself at the centre of some of the world’s most volatile disputes.

Over the past 12 months, Leo has moved from cautious homilies to pointed interventions, particularly on the US-Israel war in Iran and a string of human rights crises. His remarks have repeatedly drawn fire from United States President Donald Trump, who has accused the Vatican of meddling in geopolitical affairs.

Vatican analysts say the transformation has been gradual but unmistakable. Marco Politi, a veteran commentator on papal politics, notes that Leo initially adopted “a very calm tone,” emphasising reconciliation within a polarised church. That changed as conflicts deepened and civilian casualties mounted.

“The clash with President Trump suddenly put him in the limelight,” Politi observed. “He has proved to be one of the players in this difficult situation in the world. Trump counted Russia, China, Israel and a Europe he distrusts as the main actors. He did not expect the Pope in Rome to emerge as another major player.”

Leo’s turning point, many insiders say, came during a four-nation tour of Africa, where he condemned what he called “the machinery of war and despotism” and linked arms sales, corruption and mass displacement in unusually direct language. The trip marked the debut of a more forceful papal voice on global leadership and the erosion of basic rights.

The new tone has complicated relations with Washington. In a fence-mending visit to the Vatican, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio sought to cool tensions after a series of Trump broadsides against the pontiff. Both sides later stressed their “strong and enduring” ties, but officials privately concede that Leo has been pushed out of his comfort zone and onto the diplomatic front line.

After Trump’s latest public mischaracterisation of his comments, Leo responded tersely: “If someone wants to criticise me for announcing the Gospel, let him do it with the truth.”

Those who know him describe Leo as a mild-mannered Midwestern missionary priest, more at ease in parish halls than in power politics. Yet his first year suggests that, in a fractured world, even a reluctant pope can become a central figure on the global stage.