Poll: 70% of American Catholics view Pope Leo XIV favorably, only 4% unfavorably

Pope Leo XIV greets the faithful in Piazza della Libertà in August, 2025. / Credit: Marco Iacobucci Epp/Shutterstock

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Dec 11, 2025 / 12:00 pm (CNA).

More than two-thirds of American Catholic voters have a favorable opinion of Pope Leo XIV during the first year of his pontificate, and only a tiny percentage view him in an unfavorable light, according to a poll conducted by RealClear Opinion Research and EWTN News.

A survey of 1,000 Catholic voters released by both organizations on Dec. 11 found that 70% of people said they have a somewhat or very favorable opinion of the pontiff. Just 4% reported an unfavorable view of Leo, and the remaining 26% said they were neutral.

The survey was conducted between Nov. 9 and Nov. 11, which is about six months after his papacy began. Leo, who was born in Chicago, is the 267th pope and the first born in the United States.

It found that 43.6% of respondents said their view of Leo is very favorable and 26.7% said it was somewhat favorable. Only 1.1% of American Catholic voters said their view is very unfavorable and just 3.1% said it was somewhat unfavorable.

Those who attend Mass regularly were more likely than infrequent Mass attenders to say they hold a favorable view of the pontiff. Those who attend infrequently were more likely than regular Mass attendees to hold a neutral view.

Among those who attend Mass at least once per week, about 75% hold a favorable view, less than 4% have an unfavorable view, and nearly 21% are neutral. For those who attend less than once per week, nearly 66% hold a favorable view, less than 5% have a negative view, and just over 29% said they were neutral.

Leo’s favorability was slightly higher among registered Democrats than it was among registered Republicans and Independents, and all three groups overwhelmingly hold a favorable view of the Holy Father.

Among Democrats, over 74% view Leo favorably, less than 5% view him unfavorably, and just over 21% are neutral. For Republicans, over 70% view him favorably, less than 5% said they had an unfavorable view, and more than 25% were neutral. Among independents, just under 63% had a favorable opinion, less than 4% held an unfavorable view, and nearly 34% said they were neutral.

In the past month, Leo has weighed in on U.S. politics a few times, but many comments were made after the poll was taken. The pontiff encouraged Americans to listen to a message by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) that opposes “the indiscriminate mass deportation of people” and more recently said President Donald Trump’s peace plan for Ukraine would weaken the U.S. alliance with Europe.

According to Gallup polls, Pope Francis’s favorability rating stayed above 75% for most of his pontificate among Catholics. His lowest favorability number was 71% in July 2015. The number of Catholics with an unfavorable view remained relatively low throughout the pontificate, but inched up to 17% by December 2023.