PEW survey: 8 out of 10 Catholics in the USA have a favorable opinion of Pope Leo XIV

A new report by a PEW Research Center survey reveals that 8 out of 10 American Catholics have a favorable opinion of Pope Leo XIV, the first pontiff born in that country.

According to The report84% of Catholics in the US claims claim to have a “mostly favorable” (47%) or “very favorable” (37%) (37%) Pope’s opinion, while only 4% expresses an unfavorable vision and 11% say they have not heard of it. Among non -Catholic Americans, more than half of respondents (56%) declare to see it positively, while 31% claim not to know it.

PEW surveyed 9,916 American adults (including 1,849 Catholics) between July 8 and August 3. The margin of error is ± 3.1 percentage points. According to the same report, the same percentage of Catholics in the US – 84% – saw Pope Francis favorably in the first months of his pontificate.

Those who attend Mass most often show a more positive vision of the new Pontiff. Among Catholics who go to Mass weekly or more frequently, 95% have a favorable opinion. Among those who attend once or twice a year or sometimes a month, the figure reaches 84%, while 77% of those who rarely or never go to Mass share that positive vision.

More than three quarters of American Catholics say they feel excited because León, born as Robert Francis Prevost in Chicago in 1955, is the first Pope born in that country. However, although many see it with good eyes, only 7% of respondents claim to know a lot about the new Pope, while a quarter recognizes not knowing anything.

Almost 70% say they know “a little” about the Pontiff, who worked for decades in the Church in Peru, becoming a bishop of Chiclayo from 2015 to 2023. Pope was elected by the Cardinals College on May 8, after the death of Pope Francis on April 21.

Among the Catholics who attend Mass weekly, 75% say they know only a bit about the new Pontiff and 11% say they don’t know anything.

“These figures show both the enthusiasm and the challenge of a new pontificate,” said Montse Alvarado, president and director of Operations of Ewtn News. “Although Pope Leo XIV has been warmly received, many still do not know their history.”

“With our presence in Peru and the Vatican, and with decades of experience covering the Church, Ewtn News is in a unique position to help Catholics understand the people and places that shaped the Holy Father, and to serve as a force of unity in his pontificate,” he added.

The latest findings are part of the American Trends Panel of Pew, which integrates its continuous research on Catholicism in the USA.

In June, Pew reported that almost 50% of adults in the US have some link with the Catholic faith. “The roots of Catholicism in the United States are deep,” said the report entitled “Catholicism in the US: connections with religion, beliefs and practices”.

Pew found that 47% of American adults have ties with Catholicism: 20% identify as a Catholic, 9% as “culturally Catholic”, another 9% as a former Catholic and 9% claim to have a connection through a father, spouse or for having attended Mass in the past.

Translated and adapted by ACI Press. Originally published in CNA.