The book of Proverbs (Chapter 21) states: “A good name is greater than riches; high esteem is more valuable that silver or gold.”  When we are born, our parents give us a name.  That name helps to shape our identity.  The Catholic baptismal ritual begins by parents stating their child’s name because the infant’s identity gets united with our Christian identity.  In some cultures—like many Native American tribes—children are given a new name as part of their rite of passage into adulthood; the name is tied to their disposition or destiny.  Catholics offer a similar ritual in the Sacrament of Confirmation as youth select the name of a saint they seek to emulate.  Similarly, in many religious orders, when aspirants make final vows within a community, they are given a new name to express the passing of their former life and acceptance of their new existence.  Some rituals, like going under water, or lying prostrate covered by a pall, also ritualizes death to their former self before they rise to receive a new name and mission.

Though Jesus changed the name of Simon bar Jonah to Peter, those who succeeded the first pope kept their given name.  We often hear those names during the recitation of Eucharistic Prayer I at Mass: Linus, Cletus, Clement, Sixtus, Cornelius…  It was not until the sixth century that a pope changed his name; Mercurius was the first and did so because his given name was that of a pagan god.  By the tenth century it became common for the man elected to the papacy to choose a new name and, for the last 450 years, every pope has done so.  Usually, like in confirmation, the chosen name gives honor to someone: a predecessor, ancestor, or favorite saint.  Perhaps the past half-dozen or so popes put more thought into it than those of past generations.

When Cardinal Angelo Roncalli ascended to the papacy in 1958, he chose to be called John XXIII.  There was a very personal reason: it was the name of his papa whom he loved and the name of the church where he was baptized.  But there was also an historic and theological reason: during a great schism in the early part of the fifteenth century there were two and then three simultaneous popes, each calling the others anti-popes.  The third one called himself John XXIII, which led to declaring all of them illegitimate contenders.  Roncalli, by taking the same name, put an end to the schism of anti-popes by establishing continuity from the first century to now.  He is also the one who called forth the famous Second Vatican Council as a New Pentecost to unite the Church with Christ and the Gospel message through the power of the Holy Spirit.

His successor, Cardinal Giovanni Montini, who led the implementations of the Council, chose the name Paul (VI) to express the work of Saint Paul after the first Pentecost in his tireless evangelization efforts within the neophyte church that put total trust in Jesus’ promise that the Spirit would show us the way then and breathe new life into our world 2,000 years later.  This new evangelization would be continued by his successors as well.  The first, who was the last of thirty-six successive Italian popes from 1523-1978, Cardinal Albino Luciani, chose to be identified as John Paul I to honor the vision of his two immediate predecessors.  He is the only pope to choose two names and only pope to attach the number “one” with a name not chosen before—a clear sign that their mission and that of the Council should be carried on in our modern times; he hoped that this path would continue beyond him.

After his pontificate, one of the shortest in history, Cardinal Karol Wojtyla did just that, continuing his name, John Paul (II), in one of the longest papacies of history.  He was then succeeded by Cardinal Josef Ratzinger, who chose the name Benedict (XVI).  His eight-year term, in some ways, mirrored the eight-year term of the last Benedict, each in the early years of consecutive centuries as both were deeply concerned with the church in Europe and its effect on the world; each looked to Saint Benedict, who helped spread the faith throughout Europe fifteen hundred years earlier, to intercede in our times.  Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio then chose the name Francis because he wanted the church to follow the example of Saint Francis of Assisi to identify with the poor, to not forget the poor, like Jesus to walk with the poor, and to walk forward together under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

His successor, our current pope, the former Cardinal Robert Prevost, chose “Leo” (XIV).  It honors Leo the Great (Saint Leo) who courageously stood strong for Christian values in a time when powerful leaders wanted to destroy them and the church.  It honors Brother Leo, who was the favorite disciple of Saint Francis.  And it honors the last pope to bear this name and who ushered in the twentieth century with a strong message to put faith into action through social justice and to care for one another as one family of humanity.  As we consider the identity of the popes via their name choice, we might also admit that at various stages in our life we pursue different identities based on our desire of the time: to be liked or popular or good at what we do or other hopes for self-actualization. The military, law firms, businesses, and other enterprises similarly adjust people’s identity by assigning various ranks or titles to accompany their name.

I’m not sure we can fully answer the question, “What’s in a name?” but it is worth thinking about as we consider both our origins and our pursuits.  Just as popes express their identity and mission through what they’re called and what they’re called to do with the remainder of their earthly life, I hope we are each discovering our true identity and living up to the name “Christian” that we profess