How do popes choose their papal names

Then I thought of all the wars, as the votes were still being counted, till the end. Francis is also the man of peace. That is how the name came into my heart: Francis of Assisi.

For me, he is the man of poverty, the man of peace, the man who loves and protects creation; these days we do not have a very good relationship with creation, do we?

He is the man who gives us this spirit of peace, the poor man … How I would like a Church which is poor and for the poor! Francis also shared that his colleagues jokingly suggested he should have chosen the name Hadrian, because Hadrian VI was a reformer and they felt the church needed reform, or Clement XV to get back at Clement XIV for suppressing the Jesuits of which Pope Francis is a member.

The first Pope to choose a papal name was John II , who felt his own name Mercurius was unsuited to papacy, being that of a Pagan god, and chose to honour his martyred predecessor instead. The last Pope to retain his Baptismal name for his Pontificate was Marcellus II , though this was extremely unusual then. There are no canons or regulations which constrain the choice of name for a Pontiff. Any name at all will do, though usually the same few names are picked again and again — a little under half of all popes have used the same ten names: John, Gregory, Benedict, Clement, Innocent, Leo, Pius, Stephen, Boniface and Urban.

Sign up to join this community. The best answers are voted up and rise to the top. Stack Overflow for Teams — Collaborate and share knowledge with a private group. Create a free Team What is Teams? Learn more. On what basis do Popes choose their papal name? Ask Question. Asked 6 years, 11 months ago. Active 3 years, 6 months ago. Viewed times. Improve this question. Flimzy 22k 19 19 gold badges 98 98 silver badges bronze badges. Add a comment. Active Oldest Votes. It varies.

Pius X. Christ chose St. Peter's for him. Peter, the first pope, and so switched to John XIV. After his death in , popes began using an alias, known as a regnal name, on a regular basis. The last pope to use his real name was Adrian VI in he was also the last non-Italian elected until The regnal name is frequently chosen with a purpose.

Bergoglio selected Francis in honor of St. Francis of Assisi, foreshadowing his commitment to the poor. This question originally appeared on Quora. More questions on New Pope Election March :. This is a BETA experience. You may opt-out by clicking here. More From Forbes. May 6, , am EDT. Feb 9, , am EST. Feb 4, , am EST. Jan 26, , am EST. Oct 29, , pm EDT.