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White smoke over St. Peter’s Square announces unmistakably: the Chair of Peter is occupied again; a new pope has been elected. What name will he take? Because nomen est omen. The choice of the pope’s name is a process. It gives an initial indication of the direction in which the new Pope wants to steer the Church.
The next pope can choose from 83 names that his predecessors have borne – or, like Francis, adopt a name that has never been used. The top pope names are “John” (23 times), “Gregory” (16), “Benedict” (16), “Clement” (14), “Innocent” (13), “Leo” (13), and “Pius” (12).
Name change is a given.
There is hardly any doubt that the new pope will also give himself a new name—a tradition that has been part of the papal election for around 1,000 years, like Peter to Paul. To this day, it is an unwritten but always observed rule that certain names are considered taboo.
These include the names of the twelve apostles, the four evangelists, and St. Joseph. Of the great founders of religious orders such as Benedict, Dominic, Francis, or Ignatius, only Benedict could secure a permanent place in the pool of papal names – until Francis was added in 2013.
In fact, this taboo led to the first name changes. The apostle Peter and two later successors dropped their baptismal names out of respect and reverence for the first pope. Bishop Peter of Pavia therefore ascended the papal throne as John XIV (983-984), and Bishop Peter of Albano as Sergius IV (1009-1012). It also seemed inappropriate to lead the Christian people with the name of a pagan god as pope. Thus, the Roman Mercurio became Pope John II (533-535). He went down in history as the first pope to change his name.
In the following centuries, other popes continued this example. In 955, Ottaviano, whose first name was reminiscent of the first Roman emperor Octavian-Augustus, took over the papal office as John XII. Bruno of Carinthia, the first German to sit on the papal throne, found his baptismal name “too barbaric” and became Gregory V in 996.
With his papal name, Sergius IV (1009-1012) left behind the nickname “Pig’s Mouth” that he was popularly known by. From then on, it became the rule that every new pontiff took on a new name, with only three exceptions: Julius II (1503-1513), Hadrian VI (1522-1523), and Marcellus II (1555) kept their baptismal names.
Why the name change?
The early name changes were based less on personal preference than on respect for Christian tradition and the desire to leave secular or pagan overtones behind. Later, church leaders wanted to show that there was a difference between their previous person and the official person.
The Patriarch of Venice, Albino Luciani, made a special break when he chose a double name as John Paul I in 1978. He deliberately combined the legacy of his two predecessors, John XXIII and Paul VI, thus creating a novelty in the papal repertoire of names. His successor adopted the papal name and reigned as John Paul II for 26 years, 5 months, and 17 days.
In 2013, the Argentinian Jorge Mario Bergoglio caused a surprise. Not only was he the first pope from the Jesuit order and the first pope from Latin America, but he also took on a name that no one expected: Francis.
A few days after his election, the pope explained this. The Brazilian Cardinal Claudio Hummes had told him, “Don’t forget the poor!” This gave him the idea of naming himself after St. Francis of Assisi (1181/82-1226). The saint and patron saint of Italy lived in radical poverty to serve God and mankind.
Will there soon be a Francis II, or rather a Benedict XVII? When white smoke rises over St. Peter’s Square and shortly afterwards it says, “Habemus papam,” then it will become clear which choice the new Pope has made.
- source: APA/picture: pixabay.com
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