What’s in a name? New pope to decide
As soon as white smoke rises from a Vatican chimney to announce the election of a new pope, a critical question aside from his identity will be the name he chooses for his papacy.
Cardinals go into a secret conclave from Monday to elect the man they want to lead the world’s 1.1 billion Roman Catholics after the death on April 2 of John Paul II. When the successor emerges, history and personal faith will guide him as he delves into the ecclesiastical past for a papal handle likely to be intensely scrutinised for clues as to where he wants to lead the Church.
It will also, of course, define his place in the history books — Giovanni Battista Montini might not mean much, but as Pope Paul VI he was pontiff at a time of tumultuous social change over most of the 1960s and 1970s..
When the conclave agrees on a successor, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, as dean of the College of Cardinals, will ask the chosen man whether he accepts and — assuming he does so — how he wishes to be known.n.
What’s the betting?
If you believe the bookies, the next pope will ask to be known as Benedict XVI. John Paul is next favourite with bookmaker PaddyPower, followed by Pius, John and Paul.
Although PaddyPower also lists Peter as a possible, his name is regarded as out of bounds out of respect to the first ever pope Saint Peter, an apostle of Jesus.
In 1009, a cardinal named Peter switched to Sergius IV, as he felt that to become Peter II was presumptuous.
The practise of choosing a name emerged after several centuries of papacy. Until then, popes generally kept their Christian name, leading to the likes of Anacletus, Hyginus, Soter and Zephyrinus.
The first to buck tradition was John II in 533. Born Mercury, he decided he could not reasonably head the Church named after a pagan Roman god.
In 1958 Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli, realising he was about to be elected and keen on the name John, peeked in a papal encyclopedia to check what number he would be. He emerged as John XXIII.
He said he chose the name because it sounded “soft and gentle” and because it was the name both of his father and of the parish where he was baptized.
Catholic websites say the next pope may want to signal continuity with the conservative line of the late pope by calling himself John Paul III.
On the other hand, his lengthy stint in office — 26 years — may prove an incentive to embark on a new path, particularly if a more liberal-minded pope takes over.
There may be a return to the tried and tested, such as John or Gregory, of whom there have been 16, or a name indicating a virtue such as Pius (piety) or Clement (merciful), or a favourite saint, like Paul.
Or maybe a break-out name that has not been used before. That was tried by John Paul I — the first to use a double name — in 1978, in a nod to his two immediate predecessors, Paul VI and the last of t the aforementioned Johns.
When he died a month later, Polish-born Karol Wojtyla tactfully chose to be called John Paul II to ensure continuity.
The experts suggest that, given an increasing emphasis on the teachings of the gospels, another disciple’s name might be appropriate.
Becoming John XXIV may indicate a desire for further reforming the Church. Choosing Paul VII might show a desire to pursue a strong moral stance.
Becoming Pius XIII may suggest a return to tradition, and perhaps even the unwinding of some of the radical changes over the past decades.
Aside from John, Gregory and Benedict, the main other most popular names in papal history have been Clement (14), Innocent (13), Leo (13) and Pius (12). The first name to be repeated was Sixtus. The first was pope in the second century and there have been four others since then.
As with kings and emperors, a Roman numeral is added if the pope has had a namesake as predecessor — John Paul I was unusual in not waiting for history to decide if anyone else wantted to be known by the same name. afp
