Pope Francis is coming up on the first anniversary of his election as the leader of billions of Catholics worldwide and his popularity does not seem to have flagged a bit.

A sampling of comments of clergy and laymen on the pope after nearly a year in office reflects his strong persona as a man of the people.

“I absolutely love him. He is a refreshing change,” said Barb McCarthy, pastoral associate at St. Ferdinand Church in Cranberry Township.

“His spirit has affected the church. His spirit shows us what is most important about our faith.

“It is not the house you live in or the clothes you wear, it is about the love of Christ that we share with all people,” McCarthy said.

St. Ferdinand member Jan Shaffer said the pope's closeness to the public appeals to her.

“I like the idea he walks with the people and mingles with them. He's a guy you could go to a ballgame with,” she said.

Another parishioner, Rosemary Huber of Cranberry, likes the pope's more contemporary thinking.

“I think he is going to bring the church into the 21st century,” she said.

“I would like to see women do more in the church than just be a nun.

“I'm impressed by how he talked about people being gay and he said, 'It's not up to me.' He doesn't judge.

“He is the most human pope we have had. He understands what people are thinking nowadays.”

McCarthy sees the pope as someone who will not shrink from tackling a tough issue.

“I hope he can finally help our church to honestly face the impact that the sexual abuse crisis has had on all of us, Catholic or non-Catholic.

“When you sweep something under the rug it stays there. You gotta pick up your broom, lift up the rug, sweep all of the areas you hid in. Then the healing can begin. We've got to face it,” she said.

To draw the interest of young people, the pope uses tweets, short computer messages that the Rev. Charles Bober, pastor at St. Kilian Parish in Mars, puts up on computer monitors for students to read.

Bober said the messages are always uplifting.

Theresa Dapp, who is raising a young family in the Cranberry area, said she is pleased with Pope Francis' performance.

“I'm happy with his approach,” Dapp said. “He's more on the same level as the people, ” she said.

Michael Coulter, a political-science professor at Grove City College, said Pope Francis does not so much change church doctrine on important social issues, such as abortion and gay marriage, but has changed the approach by increasing conversation.

He said the pope uses public gestures that are easier for Catholics to grasp than a theological writing.

Coulter gave as examples of these gestures the pope washing the feet of Muslim women last March and greeting a severely disabled man at the Vatican in November.

Francis being named Time's Man of the Year also gave American Catholics an opportunity to talk about the pope that has not happened since Pope John Paul II, Coulter said.

He said that a Pew Research Center survey recently showed that Pope Francis has an 85 percent approval rating. Coulter noted that Pope John Paul II had an approval rating of more than 90 percent in the 1990s.

The survey also showed that there has been no real change in church attendance during the past year. Coulter said there seems to be little connection between a pope's popularity and Mass attendance.

However, Pope Francis has had a noticeable impact on the college students attending St. Peter Parish in Slippery Rock.

“A lot of young Catholics are inspired by him personally and are becoming more proud of their Catholic heritage,” said the Rev. Kevin Poecking, who has been with the parish for five years.

Poecking said he thinks the pope has boosted attendance during his first year.

“People that used to come a couple times per year are coming more frequently,” he said.

A couple hundred Slippery Rock University students attend Mass on the weekends. Poecking said the younger generation has been very welcoming to the new pope.

“I think he is inspiring both within the Catholic Church and non-Catholics,” he said.

Poecking said one student from a non-Catholic background is becoming Catholic this year.

“He told me his relatives are more open with the Catholic Church than before,” Poecking said. “They're more accepting to it because of the new pope.”

Poecking said the church seems more accessible with Pope Francis.

“He's opening up doors that have been not-so-open in the past,” he said.

Eagle staff writers Paula Grubbs, David Pollio, John Bojarski and Will DeShong contributed to this report.

Pope Francis is approaching the first-year anniversary of his papacy and it has been highlighted by some positions that have differed from those of past popes.Gay priests — “Who am I to judge?” was the Pope’s response to a question about how he viewed gay priests.Lifestyle — He has eschewed the usual trappings of the papacy by living in his own small, two-room apartment instead of the apostolic palace; he wears his own black shoes, instead of the red slip-ons that his predecessors have worn.Communion — Pope Francis says Communion is for those who are not whole so they may become whole.Commitment to poor — He responded to the lavish lifestyle of a German bishop by replacing him at the Vatican.