Here's what the name of a pope signifies

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Behind the process to prime a caller pope

Behind the process to prime a caller pope astatine the conclave 03:48

Now that the cardinal electors person selected a caller pope, helium volition take his papal name, which volition beryllium announced erstwhile the pontiff is introduced connected the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica.

There are nary written rules oregon authoritative criteria for a pope's name, but they take names that person meaning successful the Catholic tradition.

The value of a pope's name

The sanction the caller pope chooses volition "indicate a definite tone and absorption and imaginativeness of the caller pope," said Dennis Doyle, a theologian and prof emeritus of spiritual studies astatine the University of Dayton.

"The archetypal happening that you would look for would be, which popes had that sanction before?" helium said. "That would signify thing astir the absorption that the pope wants to take."

Pope Francis, whose commencement sanction was Jorge Mario Bergoglio, chose a papal sanction that hadn't been chosen by a pope before, truthful successful his case, "you person to ask, well, are determination immoderate biblical figures oregon radical successful the contented who person had that name?"

For Francis, it was Saint Francis of Assisi, known for his foundation and simplicity.

"If the caller pope calls himself Francis II, that volition accidental a lot," Doyle said, explaining it volition amusement that helium "wants to proceed what Francis did."

If helium chooses a sanction similar John Paul III, "that's going to accidental thing other astir what absorption this pope is going to instrumentality the church."

What are the astir communal papal names?

The names astir utilized by popes person been:

John: 23 times
Benedict: 16 times
Gregory: 16 times
Clement: 14 times
Innocent: 13 times
Leo: 13 times
Pius: 12 times

"There could beryllium much than 1 notation successful the sanction that they pope chooses," Doyle explained.

For example, Pope Benedict XVI paid homage to his predecessor Benedict XV, who fto the religion during World War I, but besides to St. Benedict of Nursia, who founded the Benedictine Order and influenced the dispersed of Christianity passim Europe.

The sanction John, the astir popular, could notation backmost to the Gospel of John, which is 1 of "the astir loved of the gospels," Doyle said. It tin besides notation to St. John the Baptist, the prophet who baptized Jesus.

Have popes ever changed their names?

Not each pope successful past has changed his name. Out of 266 popes, 129 person chosen caller names, according to Vatican News.

The signifier became much ingrained astir the 11th century, a play of German popes who chose names of aboriginal religion bishops retired of "a tendency to signify continuity," Rev. Roberto Regoli, a historiographer astatine Rome's Pontifical Gregorian University, told The Associated Press.

For galore centuries, caller popes tended to take the sanction of the pope who had elevated them to cardinal.

Only starting successful the mid-20th period did caller popes statesman to take names signaling the purpose of their papacy, Regoli said.

Names ne'er chosen by a pope

Some biblical names that haven't been utilized by a pope are Joseph, James and Andrew.

Popes besides person not chosen the sanction Peter, retired of respect for St. Peter, a disciple of Jesus who is recognized arsenic the archetypal pope, experts say.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.