Posted on 04/03/2005 6:01:07 PM PDT by Tanniker Smith
This post is to bring a little levity into a time of mourning. Already there is talk about who will be the next pope. But here's a better question: who will the next pope be?
For the last thousand years or so, popes have chosen a new name upon their election by the College of Cardinals. There's no reason to suspect that this will not continue.
So make your guess as to who the next pope will be. Here are some of the possibilities:
And before someone else mentions it, the chance that John Paul will be followed by George Ringo is only slightly higher than seeing Peter II.
Happy guessing.
TS
John Paul Jones II.
Pius XIII
I vote for Leo XIV
Not Junius but...
DO DO
I heard Paul McCartney sued so that the next Pope would be named Paul John.
I have no idea (and I did get a chuckle out of "George Ringo" :lol:) but I was wondering what criteria they use when picking their names.
Most of the names on that list aren't apostles or anyone I'm familiar from other parts of history, so I wonder where they got them. John and Paul (and permutations of those) are pretty straighforward but ones like Marcellus, Innocent, etc. make me wonder where they got them from.
LQ, not Catholic
My guess is John Paul III.
I put the encyclopedia back, and I didn't think to check on how many popes took the name of the prior pope. John Paul I was the first to draw on the two previous popes, and then, of course, John Paul II decided to honor the September pope.
TS
Pope Fabio
Buckhead I
Pope Judas I
Pope Gregory XVII if he is "European"
and don't laugh...
Pope Africus I of he is from the other side of the mediterranean.
.....IMO
I hope not...here's what Pius X had to say about one of his succesors of the same name.
Pope Pius X (1903-14): This Pope had a number of prophetic visions. In 1909, in the midst of an audience with members of the Franciscan order, he seemed to fall into a trance. Moments passed, then his eyes sprung open and he jumped to his feet. "What I have seen is terrifying!” he cried out. “Will I be the one, or will it be a successor? What is certain is that the Pope will leave Rome and, in leaving the Vatican, he will have to pass over the dead bodies of his priests!" It’s uncertain what this vision alluded to, but it is similar in many respects to the reported third prophecy of Fatima. Later, shortly before his death, another vision came to him: "I have seen one of my successors, of the same name, who was fleeing over the bodies of his brethren. He will take refuge in some hiding place; but after a brief respite, he will die a cruel death. Respect for God has disappeared from human hearts. They wish to efface even God's memory. This perversity
Leo XIV
I don't have any guesses as to what name the next pope will take, but I'm pretty sure Pius XXIII is already taken. (Remember John Kerry quoting "Pius XXIII)
I'm not too concerned about the name JPII's successor takes. I just pray that he is holy. (Being a strong disciplinarian would be nice, too.)
It seems that there's been no real single standard throughout history for "pontifical onomastics" (e.g. the reasoning behind papal names.) Motives have ranged from honoring those who have helped a new pope, to recalling those who have helped the new popes' families, or even to reinforcing "political interests".
This last motive can be seen most prominently during the Great Schism when the Roman Pope-names recalled prior Roman names, and the Avignon Popes chose the names of Popes partial to France.
In an article by Bernd-Ulrich Hergemöller for "The Papacy: An Encyclopedia", we find the following regarding "recent" Popes:
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From the 16th century, the name chosen has invariably been inspired by the principle of pietas: PAUL IV, GREGORY XIV, CLEMENT X, INNOCENT XI, INNOCENT XII, CLEMENT XII, CLEMENT XIII, BENEDICT XIV, CLEMENT XIV, PIUS VII, PIUS VIII, and PIUS XII took the names of those predecessors who had raised them to the cardinalate.
JULIUS III, PAUL V, and GREGORY XV chose the name of the pope who had launched them on their curial CAREER.
CLEMENT VIII, LEO XI, INNOCENT X, ALEXANDER VII, and INNOCENT XIII chose the name of the pope who had actively supported their family.
PAUL IV, PIUS V, SIXTUS V, and ALEXANDER VIII adopted the names of those predecessors whose nephews had contributed to their election.
Taking a predecessor’s name not only was a way of giving symbolic thanks but also implied the wish to be faithful to a spiritual heritage. Hence the stereotypical, conservative character of pontifical names in the modern era. Julius, Marcellus, and Sixtus were chosen once; as for the others, the choice of names over the roughly four centuries from the council of TRENT to VATICAN II boils down to nine: Paul, Pius, Gregory, Urban, Innocent, Clement, Leo, Alexander, and Benedict. In the 17th and 18th centuries, the name Clement takes the lead, and then, until 1958, the name Pius.
John XXIII (A. Roncalli, 1958) was the first to take the name of a medieval pope, thus symbolically emphasizing the end of the “papacy of the Piuses.” His successor PAUL VI’s choice was a subjective one, inspired primarily by a theological consideration. John Paul I was the first pope in history to adopt a double name, but his choice still obeyed the principle of respectful pietas toward his predecessors. The pontifical name of JOHN PAUL II invokes the memory of his three immediate predecessors.
Thanks! Onomastics is my hobby.
I'm not too concerned either (although the previous post about Pius' vision is news to me), but I thought it might provide for some raised spirits. If the joke to serious guess ratio is fairly high on the thread.
TS
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