Exactly one year ago, the world watched the Sistine Chapel chimney with bated breath. No one—not even the most seasoned analysts—had on their radar a low-profile Augustinian born in Chicago but with a Peruvian heart. Today, after twelve months in office, the correspondents who lived through that adrenaline-fueled moment analyze how Pope Leo XV (Robert Prevost) has achieved the near-impossible: maintaining the course set by Francis while recovering the mysticism and tradition of the Apostolic Palace.

The Candidate Who Flew “Under the Radar”

“It was a total shock to the media forecast,” recalls Elisabetta Piqué. While the press shuffled the names of high-profile cardinals, a silent group of prelates was looking for a “Pastor Pope.” Prevost, who had served as Prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops, was the man every cardinal knew up close, but whom the world ignored.

His election was not a rupture, but a consolidation. With a College of Cardinals where 80% of the electors were created by Francis, the mandate was clear: continue with a “Church going forth,” but with a more composed style.

The “Diesel Engine” vs. the “Trump Vortex”

Journalist Darío Menor defines this first year as that of a “Diesel Pope.” Unlike Bergoglio’s explosive style of “making a mess” (hacer lío), Prevost has taken time to warm up his engines, but his firmness has surprised insiders and outsiders alike.

The turning point has been his relationship with Donald Trump. “Trump is a vortex that drags everyone in, but the Pope hasn’t backed down,” experts note. The clash has been both dialectical and symbolic: from responding to accusations regarding nuclear weapons by demanding to be criticized “with the truth,” to almost imperceptible gestures, such as leaving a White House invitation envelope on the corner of a table—sending a clear message: the United States will have to wait.

A Return to the Past or Personal Freedom?

One of the most debated points is the Pope’s return to the Apostolic Palace and the use of Castel Gandolfo, places that Francis had essentially turned into museums. For the correspondents, this is not an ideological step backward, but a display of freedom.

“He is an absolutely free and independent man. He did not feel constrained by the shadow of Francis to stay at Santa Marta,” the panel points out.

This return to traditional forms—including the use of the protocol-mandated white cassock on the balcony—seems to have appeased sectors of the Curia that felt uncomfortable with the “excessive informality” of the previous pontificate.

The Future: Spain, Argentina, and the Language of the Heart

The second year of Leo XV promises to be one of major travel. Eva Fernández highlights the Pope’s interest in Spain, a country Francis never visited officially. With 22 speeches already prepared, a historic visit is expected to break a 15-year papal absence on Spanish soil.

But the great mystery remains Argentina. The Pope who “never returned to his homeland” could finally land in the Southern Cone at the end of November, closing a wound that has been open for more than a decade.

What is undeniable is that when Leo XV speaks Spanish, his personality shifts. “His Peruvian side comes out, and the Chicago side fades,” the correspondents say with a laugh. It is in that spontaneity where the Church seems to have found a balance: a Pope seeking a peace that is “disarmed and disarming,” but who has clearer ideas than ever before.