Pope Francis marked the one-year anniversary of his election last week, triggering another round of effort to pin down the exact nature of his “Roman Spring.” There may be no single answer, but one way to approach it is by examining the kind of church leader who seems emboldened by the new pontiff.

If that’s the measure, the fact that Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle of Manila in the Philippines feels affirmed offers a pretty good indication of which way the winds are blowing.

Before last year’s papal election, Tagle was known as the face of a distinctly Asian form of Catholicism. He rejects ostentation in dress and manner, preferring to be called by his nickname “Chito” rather than formal titles. He emphasizes the need for the church to listen as much as it talks, and he exudes a sort of slow-burn charisma that doesn’t smack you in the face so much as it gradually envelops you.