As Pope Leo XIV concludes his first year as the first American pope on Friday, Americans shared with the Guardian how they feel about the 70-year-old pontiff who has increasingly found himself at odds with Donald Trump.

Several described his papacy as a “breath of fresh air” compared with earlier, more conservative eras of church leadership.

For Brock Horton, a 69-year-old retired public school teacher in San Antonio, Texas, the pope feels “authentic and not just an archaic mouthpiece for a failing religion”.

“Pope Leo is bringing Jesus’s teachings forward instead of church dogma … If you can’t welcome strangers and treat everyone with love and dignity, you have no place leading anyone. I will never become a Catholic, but with Leo, I see a loving person first, and a pontiff second,” Horton said.

“The fact that he lives in Donald Trump’s head is also a plus,” he added, referring to Trump’s latest attacks on the pope.

In recent weeks, the president has repeatedly criticized Pope Leo after the pontiff said a “delusion of omnipotence” was fueling the US-Israel war on Iran. Trump accused the pope of “endangering a lot of Catholics” through his condemnation of the war, which has killed at least 3,400 Iranians and 13 US service members. Trump has also described the pope as “weak on crime and terrible for foreign policy”, comments Pope Leo dismissed by saying: “I’m not afraid of the Trump administration.”

Kelly Raghavan, a 64-year-old medical interpreter in San Diego, California, hailed the pope’s willingness to speak out, saying: “Kudos to Pope Leo XIV for his outspokenness in the face of the bigoted tyrant who is running this country into the ground.”

Catholics and non-Catholics alike said they had taken notice of the pope’s willingness to challenge Trump publicly. Chris Kell, an interfaith minister in Minneapolis, Minnesota, praised the pope’s measured approach.

“He is strong enough, savvy enough, and more than intelligent enough to stand up to Trump without resorting to personal attacks. His reasoned commentaries are based in unshakeable faith, not whimsey,” Kell said.

Joyce, a 73-year-old retired business owner and self-described “cradle Catholic” who splits her time between New Jersey and Italy, recalled the moment in Vatican City when Pope Leo was elected.

“I was at the piazza the afternoon Pope Leo was elected and it was electrifying. In New Jersey, with a large contingent of Catholics, either practicing or not, I hear very positive feedback for his progressive and inclusive views and interpretation of the Gospel,” she said.

“The general feeling I’ve heard in general is that he is bringing the church into the 21st century. Even Republicans I’ve spoken to are raising their eyebrows pretty far that a US president would be attacking the head of the church and the first American pope in 1600 or so years.”

A 38-year-old non-clinical social worker in Colorado said : “I do not follow the pope or Catholicism very closely, but I have seen the spat between Pope Leo and Trump/[JD] Vance… Pope Leo is doing what he should be doing by calling out the abhorrent violence and injustices playing out in the world… The response from our ‘leadership’ is perfectly in line with the precedent they’ve set: absurd denialism in response to people calling them out or not getting what they want.”

“To say Pope Leo is ‘weak on crime’ is so hilarious you would think it’s satire,” he added.

A 57-year-old public school educator in Texas, who identified as Presbyterian, echoed the same sentiment.

“I feel that Pope Leo XIV is doing exactly as he was called to do. He is doing God’s work and leading by example. As a Christian, it is imperative that we follow the teachings of Jesus and treat everyone equally and with dignity and respect… If we all followed his example and not the one set by the US government, this world would be a much better, safer place for us all,” the educator said.

For Skywalker Payne, a Homer, Alaska, resident who grew up Catholic before becoming Buddhist, Pope Leo’s election carried both personal and symbolic significance.

“Both my husband and I feel Pope Leo XIV is a divine blessing for this world and for the Catholic church. Both of us claim Chicago as our former home, so that was the first reason. I’m a Black woman, second reason for loving him … I don’t follow the Catholic church, but I recognize its profound influence on the world,” she said.

“I am so happy that the cardinals saw the importance of supporting a leader who can speak to the diversity of the church honestly and in the tradition of Jesus who taught peace, compassion and love.”

Wren, a 27-year old queer, trans mental health therapist based in Portland, Oregon, said Pope Leo represents both continuity and a stronger sense of urgency.

Referring to his predecessor Pope Francis, Wren, a former Christian, said: “It gave me hope that a leading figure of the community was not downright prejudiced, but even sympathetic to the LGBTQ+ community … [Pope Leo] not only shares many similarities in perspective to his predecessor, but is even more unapologetically explicit about his beliefs and direct in calling out the un-Christian actions and ideologies held by supposed Christian leaders and movements.”

Wren added that it’s “truly inspiring to see him stand firm where many world leaders and domestic politicians have folded in the face of the Trump administration’s hateful, violent and regressive policies … In a world where the allies of social justice seem to be waning, it’s shocking, but also hopeful, that the current pope is someone I can count as an ally.”

Not all respondents, however, felt the pope had gone far enough.

Andrew, a 55-year-old doctor who divides his time between the US and the UK, said he wants to see stronger condemnation of Trump and other world leaders.

“I’m not religious, so observe religion from outside, with little interest, but his protestations on Trump’s moronic outputs and appalling behaviors should be stronger if we are to respect him as a leader. I don’t understand why religious leaders don’t uphold their beliefs more stridently, especially Christian leaders,” he said.

Others compared Pope Leo’s advocacy on climate change with that of Pope Francis, while still praising his repeated calls for peace.

A retired English and drama teacher in San Luis Obispo, California, said: “I’ve never been a huge fan of organized religion. However, I appreciated Pope Francis’ advocacy for climate change and how it impacts poorer peoples. Although Leo hasn’t been as vocal about that cause, his call for less killing and more talking to arrive at peace is absolutely a Christian (and moral) tenet.”