An opinion poll by the Pew Forum this month showed that fewer Catholics in the United States now automatically attach the "conservative" label to his name and an increasing number identify him as moderate or even liberal.
George Weigel, a leading American lay theologian and senior fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington, has described the change as a Catholic "hunger to be fed by a master teacher".
"This man so widely regarded as a kind of enforcer, a kind of heavy, turns out in this role (teacher) to be the gentle and brilliant grandfather who knows how to explain things and make the most complex parts of Catholic doctrine and practice make sense to ordinary people," Weigel said at the Pew Forum event.
Since his election, Benedict has seen his role as a strong re-assertion of a traditional Catholic identity but with a positive spin - what Allen calls "affirmative orthodoxy".
CATHOLICS COURAGEOUS
While some Muslims, Jews and Protestants have seen some of his actions and comments as alienating, Benedict has offered his own flock a clearer sense of what makes them Catholic.
"I think Benedict's diagnosis is that people are far too familiar with what the Catholic Church is against rather than what it's for ... so I think his effort is to try to present a positive vision of what the Catholic Church represents," Allen said.
Benedict, a professor and prolific author before he was elected, seems to have settled well into his role of being chief teacher and leaving more administrative affairs to his aides.
Although he was formed socially and culturally in Europe, he has a deep awareness of the religious vitality of U.S. society.
"I think he is going to be an inspiration but at the same time challenging," said Reese.
"We are the richest, most powerful country in the world and he has an obligation to come here and challenge us to use our wealth and our power for good," he said.
Vatican officials also said the pope will seek to heal wounds from the sexual abuse scandal that shook the Church in the United States and urge reconciliation with victims.
Before his election as pontiff in 2005, then Cardinal Ratzinger went out on a limb to decry the "filth" in the Church.
