In Assisi in 2013, Pope Francis explained why he adopted “Il Poverello” (the little poor man) as his patron.
First came St Francis’s focus on Christ. Second was his focus on peace, not a “saccharine peace”, much less some kind of “pantheistic harmony with forces of the cosmos”, but the grace that enables Christians to serve as instruments of peace. Pope Francis then emphasised St Francis’s love for all creation, with human beings at the centre.
It will take many decades before Pope Francis’s full impact can be assessed, but his choice of name set out his priorities. His predecessor, Benedict XVI, chose his name in honour of a previous pope who had earnestly worked for peace during the first World War, and for Benedict of Nursia, whose monastic vision is central to the Christian roots of European culture.
It could seem that Pope Benedict’s choice of name reflected his belief in a church of “small, vital circles of really convinced believers who live their faith” – in contrast to Pope Francis’s embrace of a poor church for the poor, a church for todos, todos, todos (everyone). Yet, these interpretations are too simplistic, as Pope Francis called his predecessor a prophet, saying that his thoughts on a smaller church were one of his greatest insights.
The secular tend to frame the church as a competition between a left-wing and a right-wing faction, while the religious sometimes frame it as a competition between the forces of light and darkness. Those binary viewpoints fail to explain why, in a book co-written with Fr Luigi Maria Epicoco , Francis declared that Pope John Paul II had “the smell of the sheep. He was a pastor who loved people and the people returned it with an immense love.” There is more radical continuity between the Popes than either secular or religious factions are often willing to admit.
Nonetheless, no matter who emerges as Pope, the name that he chooses will be immediately analysed. Will there be a Francis ll, like Pope John Paul ll took the name of his predecessor? In that case, his predecessor lived long enough only to be known as the smiling Pope, and not to set any ambitious agendas. That cannot be said of Francis.
Will it be John or Paul? John heads the list of papal names, having been taken by 23 popes. There are, however, disputes about the correct numbering because it was also the name of some anti-Popes.
It is unlikely that anyone will take the name of any of the Borgia popes. Callixtus has not been used since Callixtus lll, who elevated two of his nephews as cardinals, including the one who became the notorious womanising and corrupt Alexander Vl.
Leo would be an interesting choice, signalling an embrace of the breadth of Catholic teaching. Leo XIII is revered for his 1891 encyclical, Rerum Novarum, subtitled The Conditions of Labour, and written in response to the rapid industrialisation of the nineteenth century. Some of it is, sadly, still grimly relevant, for example: “Workingmen have been given over, isolated and defenceless, to the callousness of employers and the greed of unrestrained competition ... a yoke little better than slavery itself.” Leo advocated for a living wage, the right to adequate rest and to form unions. He also defended the right to private property so long as it was a right available to all.
Rerum Novarum was less enlightened when it comes to women, who are portrayed primarily as homemakers. It was not until Pacem in Terris, written by Pope John XXlll in 1963, that women in both public and domestic life were acknowledged. Rerum Novarum is still revolutionary in an era when the tech bros promote a kind of neo-feudalism that favours wealth transfer from the poor to the rich.
Leo was an accomplished diplomat, anxious to form links between the world and the Vatican. He also declared that there is never “any real discrepancy between the theologian and the physicist, as long as each confines himself within his own lines”. He re-founded the Vatican Observatory as part of his commitment to science and opened the Vatican archives to scholars. He declared John Henry Newman a cardinal of the church. The honour meant a great deal to Newman, who declared, “the cloud [of lacking orthodoxy] is lifted forever”.
Theologically, Leo is remembered for a revival in interest in Saint Thomas Aquinas. He was also a great humanitarian. In fact, where Pope Francis lived and the cardinal electors will be housed, Domus Sanctae Marthae, was formerly a hospice founded by Pope Leo Xlll in 1891 during a cholera epidemic.
The new pope might eschew any previous papal names, particularly if he is from the global south. Only 40 per cent of the eligible cardinal electors are from Europe, with about 12 per cent from North America, due to Francis’s focus on areas where the Church is vibrant and growing. Whatever name the new pope chooses, his task will not be easy, no easier than it was for the fallible fisherman who first led the church.
