Posted on 04/16/2005 4:46:53 PM PDT by NYer
VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - The first message a new pope sends to the world is encoded in the name he chooses.
If Roman Catholicism's next leader calls himself John Paul III, that would signal continuity. "John" would connote a gentle father while "Pius" could herald an era of deep conservatism.
A name from the distant papal past -- improbable ones like Zephyrinus, Hilarus or Formosus -- would send Catholics scurrying to their history books to see what it could mean.
The maxim "Nomen est omen" (Latin for "a name is a sign") is as valid today for popes as it was for ancient Romans whose emperors took new names or titles when they assumed power.
"It's a practice that goes back as far as the Book of Genesis, where Abram changed his name to Abraham," said John-Peter Pham, a former Vatican diplomat and papal historian.
"Simon changed his name to Peter, which means rock," he added. "Because Christ said he was the rock on which he would build the Church."
There is no law saying popes must choose a new name, but a tradition more than 1,000 years old cannot be ignored. Popes declare their choice right after being elected.
POPE STANISLAS?
The first pope known to have changed his name was John II in 533. He was previously called Mercury but thought the Christian pontiff should not have the name of a pagan Roman god.
This became more common after an 18-year-old with another name from pagan times, Octavian, was chosen in a rigged election in 955 and decided to take the name John XII. A man named Peter opted for Sergius IV in 1009 out of respect for the first pope.
Popes who bore the name Pius made it synonymous with deep conservativism.
Pius IX (1846-1878) rejected democracy, Pius X (1903-1914) denounced modern liberal politics and Pius XI (1922-1939) ran the Church in an autocratic way, Pham said. Under Pius XII (1939-1958), the Church cracked down on liberal theologians.
Cardinal Angelo Roncalli reportedly spent the evening before his election as John XXIII in 1958 thumbing through a list of popes to check what earlier Johns had done.
When Albino Luciani was elected in 1978, he took the first double name in papal history, John Paul I, to show he wanted to combine John XXIII's reforms with the more traditional stand of his immediate predecessor, Paul VI (1963-1978).
When John Paul I died 33 days later, Cardinal Karol Wojtyla of Poland honored him by taking the name John Paul II. "It is said that he considered something more Slavic, like Stanislas, but then thought the better of it," Pham said.
The next pope could be tempted to call himself John Paul III. But if Wojtyla goes down in history as John Paul the Great, as his supporters want, a successor taking his name could risk being known as John Paul the Lesser.
PUNTERS PICKS
Without knowing the identity of the next pope, it is hard to guess which name he will pick -- but that hasn't stopped Dublin bookmakers Paddy Power from opening betting on it.
A surprise choice -- Benedict -- leads the pack ahead of John Paul and John, mostly because someone has placed an unusually large bet on it, company spokesman Paddy Power said.
The choice of Benedict could signal a subtle shift to more moderate policies, judging from the way the Benedict XV turned away from Pius X's rigorous anti-modern stand, Pham said.
"We were surprised because we thought John Paul or John would certainly be on top," said Power, who had no explanation for Benedict's popularity.
"There seems to be some connection between Cardinal Jean-Marie Lustiger and the name Benedict," he said, referring to the former Paris archbishop deemed too old to be in the race.
"The same person who put a big bet on Lustiger also bet big on Benedict."
Ummm (turning a bit red here)... I gave up math when my daughter entered the 4th grade. You'll have no help from me, sorry!
History is my forte.
You DO know Ratzinger was in the Hitler Youth when he was a kid, don't you?
LOL! No secret that for every German youth membership in the Hitler Youth Group was manditory - no options to decline membership.
Sewald: Were you ever in the Hitler Youth?Ratzinger: At first we weren't, but when the compulsory Hitler Youth was intruduced in 1941, my brother was obliged to join. I was still too young, but later as a seminarian, I was registered in the HY. As soon as I was out of the seminary, I never went back. And that was difficult, because the tuition reduction, which I really needed (his family was very poor) was tied to proof of attendance at the HY. Thank goodness there was a very understanding mathematics professor. He himself was a Nazi, but an honest man and said to me "Just go once get the document so we have it..." When he saw that I simply didn't want to, he said. " I understand, I'll take care of it" and so I was able to stay free of it.
Do they have to choose a Saint's name?
AC--
Thanks for the clarification on Cardinal Ratzinger vis-a-vis his membership in the Hitler Youth.
http://www.ratzingerfanclub.com/Ratzinger_faq.html
If one were to scan the list of less than illustrious Popes whom God has chosen to lead His Church without blowing the Deposit of Faith, I know FAR more egregious "facts" would be unearthed on many of them.
As for "Maximus" being a Germanic name, it is, in fact, Latin. St. Maximus was a Roman soldier who died for his faith along with a companion in the 230 AD time frame. In researching the number of saints named "Maximus", I was stunned as to their variety and number.
The name Maximus came to mind from the recent movie, Gladiator, in which the protagonist is named Maximus Desmas Meridius.
Our Chef would do well to consider Cardinal Arinze of Nigeria (mentioned above) and other wonderful African Cardinals (including the Cardinal from the Sudan who has fought for 25 years against the decimation of his people by Muslims). These two are magnificent candidates although the latter is not touted highly to my knowledge.
Frank
No. They can choose the name of a previous pontiff. However, this is very much like the Sacrament of Confirmation, when catholic youth are 'confirmed' in the faith. The recommended formula is to choose a saint's name and model their life after that saint's qualities.
This tradition began back in the early centuries of the Church when the newly elected pope had been named after a pagan god - Mercurious. He chose a new name that was more faithful to his beliefs. These days, a new pope often picks the name of his favorite saint or pope to be his papal name.
Any idea why John Paul I broke with tradition?
It would strike me as odder if he had DIED on the day of the eclipse. Funeral on the day is a little weak. They could have chosen the day of the funeral to match the eclipse. I know its all according to a schedule, but they seemed to be able to massage it a bit.
bump
I'm not at all sure they still do it... JPII may even have changed that rule. There's not much reason for it these days. Being sure someone was dead and not just comatose has always been an issue and with the earthly representative of Christ on earth, everything is most important.
I agree wholeheartedly. And to think they accuse Catholics of being pigheaded arrogant isolationists - and every other epithet they can conjure up!
To Catholic freepers - aren't you sick and tired of being regularly bashed and trashed and beaten into insignificance by freepers and Bible-"belters" of other faiths?
Shades of St. Malachy
I like 'Maximus' just fine but it might be a little bit to 'in your face' of a name. ;-)
I'd like it if a guy like Ratzinger chose it but I don't think I'd like it much if a guy like Mahony chose it.
Spain's glory is my bet. I'm actually going with the Brazilian.
Jean-Marie Lustiger, 78
Retired archbishop of Paris
Jean-Marie Lustiger was born in the French capital on Sept. 17, 1926, of parents who were Polish Jews and had emigrated to France at the beginning of the century.
During the Nazi occupation his parents were deported and his mother died in the concentration camp of Auschwitz in 1943. The young Jean-Marie was spared because he was taken in by a family in Orleans.
Through contact with them he was converted to Catholicism and was baptized Aug. 25, 1940, in the chapel of the bishop's residence where 20 years later he would be the pastor.
He studied at the Montaigne Lyceum in Paris, then in Orleans, and later at the Sorbonne. In the years of university studies, he was an active member of the Young Christian Students.
After working for a year as a mechanic in Decazenville in the southwest of France, he entered the Carmelite Seminary in Paris. He earned a degree from the Catholic Institute in theology and a licentiate in letters and in philosophy from the Sorbonne. He was ordained a priest April 17, 1954.
As chaplain of students, he gave assistance in spiritual renewal at Richelieu Center. In 1969, he was called to direct the Parish of St. Jeanne de Chantal.
In November 1979, John Paul II appointed him bishop of Orleans. Episcopal ordination was conferred that Dec. 18.
In February 1981 he took over the post of archbishop of Paris. He also served as ordinary for Eastern-Rite faithful in France without ordinaries of their own. He was elevated to cardinal in 1983.
He was president delegate to the 1st Special Assembly for Europe of the Synod of Bishops, in 1991. He retired as archbishop of Paris in February.
Curial membership:
* Secretariat of State (second section)
* Eastern Churches, Bishops, Clergy, Institutes of Consecrated life and Societies of Apostolic Life (congregations)
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