A Pope’s Name ~ The Name Leads The Way

The election of the Pope begins tomorrow and Francis’ succession is still considered open. The choice of the name of a new pope is also eagerly awaited because the name says a lot about the agenda of the NEW ONE.

How does a pope get his name? Pope Francis, who died on April 21,2025 described in his autobiography “Hope”, published in January 2025, the moment during the papal election in 2013 when he found his name.

In the decisive fifth round of voting of the conclave on March 13, 2013, the name Jorge Mario Bergoglio – the civil name of Pope Francis – was read out more and more often during the counting of the votes. “When my name was mentioned for the seventy-seventh time, applause arose, although the reading of the names went on … At that very moment, while the cardinals were applauding and the counting continued, Cardinal Hummes stood up and embraced me: ‘Don’t forget the poor,’ he said. This sentence hit me to the core. I felt it in my innermost being. At that moment, the name ‘Francis’ came to mind.” Previously, Francis wrote in the book, he never expected to be elected and had no pope’s name ready.

Bergoglio, who then stepped onto the loggia of St. Peter’s Basilica as Pope Francis, became special with his choice of name. For more than 600 years, no pope had chosen a name that had not yet appeared in any papal statistics that was new.

The wish of a homeless person

In the days before the conclave, a homeless man appeared on the square in front of St. Peter’s Basilica with a sign around his neck: ‘Pope Francis I.’ was written on it but nobody noticed it until many days later, when several newspapers published his photo.

Before Bergoglio, the 266th Pope, no one had chosen the name “Francis”. Instead, there were favorites. John (23 times; most recently 1958-1963), Gregory (16 times; last 1831-1846) and Benedict (16 times; last 2005-2013), Clement (14 times; last 1769-1774), Innocent (13 times; last 1721-1724), Leo (13 times, last 1878-1903) and Pius (12 times; last 1939-1958) were elected more than ten times. There are also over 40 names such as Peter, Fabianus, Constantine, and now Francis, which appear only once in the lists. And just as one can bet on many things in connection with the change of leadership in the Catholic Church or even guess in circles of friends, so also on the choice of the name of the “new one”.

The first popes starting with Peter, did not change their names. The first attested choice of name was probably made in the year 533 out of embarrassment.” The new head of the church elected at that time bore the name of a pagan god, Mercurius. “He then chose the name John II.”

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Since Francis, it has been clear how programmatic a name can be. The Latin phrase “Nomen est Omen” comes to mind (The Name Is A Sign).

Francis – reminded us of St. Francis of Assisi (1182-1226). The merchant’s son from what is now Assisi in central Italy left all wealth, felt called by Jesus to a life of radical poverty, and founded the Franciscan Order with this in mind. Just like St. Francis of Assisi, again and again, Pope Francis turned to the poor and like the saint from Assisi, he directed the gaze to the beauty of today’s threatened creation. The Pope visited no place outside Rome as often as Assisi.

More recently, Paul VI, who led the church from 1963 to 1978, was probably the clearest example of a programmatic choice of name. The northern Italian, the Archbishop of Milan before his papal election, saw himself as a modern apostle. This title generally applies to Paul, who in the first years after Jesus spread Christianity beyond what was then Palestine into the world at that time.

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A good four months after his election, Paul VI boarded a plane as the first pope in office and traveled to the Holy Land, and a year later to Bombay, India. Other major ventures to many parts of the world followed, including the United Nations in New York, Uganda, Asia, Oceania, and Australia.

Tomorrow the conclave will begin and there is no limit on how long it will last until a new Pope is elected. One vote will be held on the first day of voting. If this vote is not decisive, over the next two days, two votes will be held in the morning, and two more in the afternoon. If a decision still has not been made after three days, a break of up to one day is permitted, allowing for prayer and discussion amongst cardinals. But this process can continue indefinitely until a majority is reached.

The longest election took place in 1268 when the death of Pope Clement IV led to a conclave of 1,006 days. Political, religious, and family motivations divided the cardinals, preventing a majority, during a time when cardinals were not cut off from the outside world. This however has changed. The cardinals will have no access to cell phones or the outside world (so it is said).

Normally it takes about three days and votes until we will see white smoke coming out of the most famous chimney.

Then we will hear Habemus Papam – “We have a Pope” and shortly after he will step out on the balcony to introduce himself to the world. I have a favorite or two, not that my opinion will matter, because in the eyes of the church I am just a woman -and what do they know.

I remember the conclave in 1978 very well. It was the first one I witnessed in my lifetime. Surrounded by nuns in our boarding school we all got a glimpse into the church’s business and saw how much it meant to the sisters, and how fearful and excited the nuns were. After all the new Pope would be their boss and he would lead the way for all to follow.

I think I will write about my memories and I might introduce you all to the most wonderful nun who has a special place in my heart.