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Wayman
wayman
05 April 2005 @ 03:10 pm
Papal Poll  
By the end of April, there will likely be a new Pope. Which of the 117
eligible Cardinals he'll be is an open question, but since most of us
aren't even remotely familiar with the candidates, it's not much fun to
think about.

But ... what will the new Pope, whoever he is, select as his Papal name?

Vote for your favorite name! (By commenting, of course.) I'll tally and post the results (both separated and combined with the SWIL results).

Before John Paul I (Pope briefly in 1978), no Pope has taken a unique
(never previously used) name since Pope Lando (not Calrissian) in 913!

Given one thousand years of tradition, let's assume the next Pope will
adopt a previously used name. Then these are the likely candidates, in
order of the time they were most recently used (with the number of
the next Pope to use that name, followed by the last Pope to use that name
and his papacy's dates):

Possible names which were last used in the 20th Century:

John Paul III(II: 1978 - 2005)
Paul VII(VI: 1963 - 1978)
John XXIV(XXIII: 1958 - 1963)
Pius XIII(XII: 1939 - 1958)
Benedict XVI(XV: 1914 - 1922)
Leo XIV(XIII: 1878 - 1903)


Possible names which were last used in the 17th, 18th & 19th Centuries:

Gregory XVII(XVI: 1831 - 1846)
Clement XV(XIV: 1769 - 1774)
Innocent XIV(XIII: 1721 - 1724)
Alexander IX(VIII: 1689 - 1691)


Possible names which were last used in the 16th Century:

Urban VIII(VII: 1590)
Sixtus VI(V: 1585 - 1590)
Marcellus III(II: 1555)
Julius IV(III: 1550 - 1555)
Adrian VII(VI: 1522 - 1523)


Possible names which were last used in the 15th Century:

Callistus IV(III: 1455 - 1458)
Martin VI(V: 1417 - 1431)
Eugene V(IV: 1431 - 1447)
Nicholas VI(V: 1447 - 1455)


Possible names which were last used in the 13th & 14th Centuries:

Boniface IX(VIII: 1294 - 1303)
Honorius V(IV: 1285 - 1287)
Celestine VI(V: 1294)


Possible names which were last used in the 12th Century:

Lucius IV(III: 1181 - 1185)
Anastasius V(IV: 1153 - 1154)
Gelasius III(II: 1118 - 1119)
Paschal III(II: 1099 - 1118)


Possible names which were last used in the 11th Century:

Stephen XI(X: 1057 - 1058)
Victor III(II: 1055 - 1057)
Damasus III(II: 1048)
Sylvester IV(III: 1045)
Sergius V(IV: 1009 - 1012)


Possible names which were last used in the 1st through 10th Centuries:

Agapetus III(II: 946 - 955)
Marinus III(II: 942 - 946)
Theodore III(II: 897)
Adeodatus III(II: 672 - 676)
Pelagius III(II: 579 - 590)
Felix V(IV: 526 - 530)


Or, check out this list of the last ten innovative names that haven't been
repeated yet:

Lando (913 - 914)
Romanus (897)
Formosus (891 - 896)
Valentine (827)
Zachary (741 - 752)
Constantine (708 - 715)
Sisinnius (708)
Conon (686 - 687)
Agatho (687 - 681)
Donus (676 - 678)

And here are ten less likely suggestions (send your own!):

John Paul George
Ringo
Grignr
Lando Calrissian
Sylvester Tweety
Urban Blight
Not Guilty
Eugene Volokh
Marinara
Celestine Prophecy
Super Bowl XL

Happy poping!
 
56 comments | Leave a comment
 
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Cassandra[info]trifles on April 5th, 2005 12:30 pm (UTC)
I'll put a chocolate cake and another chapter of the QE/HP crossover on either a new Urban or Innocent.
chris[info]halfspell on April 5th, 2005 12:43 pm (UTC)
You could have both and have Pope Innocent Urban the First?
(no subject) - [info]trifles on April 5th, 2005 02:15 pm (UTC) Expand
Pope from Africa or Latin America - (Anonymous) on April 7th, 2005 09:32 am (UTC) Expand
The Infinite Improbability Drive[info]weirdquark on April 5th, 2005 01:10 pm (UTC)
I think they should bypass the Cardinals and elect a real estate agent from Florida.

I would furthermore like to suggest that the next Pope should take the name His Divine Shadow.
Balloonist of experience[info]aryky on April 5th, 2005 01:38 pm (UTC)
Oh, wow. I only ever saw the first season of that show, which I hear is radically different from the other seasons, but. . . thanks, I think, for reminding me of it. It was weird. If that episode summary is representative of later seasons, they were weird, too. God, what a weird show that was.
(Anonymous) on April 5th, 2005 02:09 pm (UTC)
I like Pope Michael
(Anonymous) on April 5th, 2005 02:17 pm (UTC)
How about 'Matthew Mark', a strong blow for equal gospel-writer representation?
Rush-That-Speaks[info]rushthatspeaks on April 5th, 2005 02:19 pm (UTC)
I'd really, really like it to be Sixtus VI. I mean, dude.

Innocent would also be great.

I'm not sure either of them are terribly likely, though. We're probably in for John Paul III.
Cassandra[info]trifles on April 5th, 2005 07:54 pm (UTC)
It depends on how the vote goes on the pope issue concerning whether it'll be a John Paul III -- if the pope chooses that name, it sort of implies that he's going to continue with the work that John Paul II did (which is why, I believe, John Paul II chose his name -- to show he was going to continue with John Paul I's ideas). If the cardinal from South America (labeled as "conservative" by the others) may choose John Paul III or go for something more hardcore/old school -- whereas if they vote in a pope who either has to live up to some pretty big hype (an African pope, for instance) or has some different directions he wants the church to go, he might choose a name that reflects some of the major changes in the church -- Innocent would call to mind (aside from the Inquisition) things like the Fourth Lateran Council, and Urban (along with Gregory, come to think of it) would call up the idea of the Crusades.

Wow, that went on for a while.
(no subject) - [info]terpsichoros on April 6th, 2005 12:11 pm (UTC) Expand
(Anonymous) on April 5th, 2005 02:28 pm (UTC)
As a serious prediction, I would guess that either we will have an Italian Pope called John Paul III, or a Pope from the southern hemisphere named Pius XIII. However, with nothing to lose, I'll bet on the Seat of Peter being filled by Mary Clement I.

Thanks,
-Vardibidian.
(Anonymous) on April 5th, 2005 02:39 pm (UTC)
Pope Innocent XIV
I'm voting for Pope Innocent XIV. For some reason, that particular pope's name has always stuck in my head ever since the first time I read a list of all the Popes. It's catchy, it's different, yet traditional and pious.

I hope it isn't John Paul III. Please, Your Eminence, something different...
Re: Pope Innocent XIV - [info]god_of_belac on April 5th, 2005 02:42 pm (UTC) Expand
Re: Pope Innocent XIV - (Anonymous) on April 5th, 2005 03:57 pm (UTC) Expand
Re: Pope Innocent XIV - [info]ccommack on April 5th, 2005 07:34 pm (UTC) Expand
Re: Pope Innocent XIV - [info]trifles on April 5th, 2005 08:01 pm (UTC) Expand
Re: Pope Innocent XIV - [info]trifles on April 5th, 2005 08:02 pm (UTC) Expand
Re: Pius - (Anonymous) on April 6th, 2005 06:17 am (UTC) Expand
(Anonymous) on April 5th, 2005 02:50 pm (UTC)
Super Hero Names?
http://www.topfive.com/arcs/t5121300.shtml
(Anonymous) on April 5th, 2005 03:05 pm (UTC)
Guilty XCXI
Leo Paul I
Handmeotus II
Benedict Arnold III
Lucretia II
Khava[info]khava on April 5th, 2005 07:38 pm (UTC)
The ninety-eleventh?
Shermhead Samurai: shermhead[info]shermheadsamuri on April 5th, 2005 05:58 pm (UTC)
In a misguided attempt to appeal to the urban market, the new Pope will choose the name MC 900 Foot Pope. Once the cardinals find out about MC 900 Foot Jesus, MC 900 Foot Pope will be quietly retired and replaced by a trio of angry young catholics called Popes With Attitude (PWA).
Wayman[info]wayman on April 5th, 2005 09:19 pm (UTC)
Or perhaps, in a misguided attempt to appeal to the MC 900 Foot market, the new Pope will choose the name Urban.... :-)
(Anonymous) on April 5th, 2005 10:48 pm (UTC)
Really old school
How about Peter II ?
(Anonymous) on April 6th, 2005 09:08 am (UTC)
Re: Really old school
Peter II is the last pope in the prophecy. This one's the second-to-last, "of the blessed olive".
Not-so-Satin Doll[info]ladyj_79 on April 5th, 2005 11:31 pm (UTC)
Yes!
I was just going through possible papal names last night. If I were pope I'd combine the frequently manifest 'Adrian' and 'Paul' in an homage to highlander the series. I'm going to hell.
(Anonymous) on April 6th, 2005 06:15 am (UTC)
I never knew this before, but of the Saints who wrote the Gospels, only John has been used as a Papal name. No Matthew, Mark, or Luke.

Maybe Pope Luke I could use the Force.

St John was commissioned by Christ as the first leader of His church on Earth, IIRC. St Paul was the #1 missionary of the early Church. So assume the name John Paul was chosen for a combination of spreading the Word and strengthening tradition.

St Peter is regarded as the first Pope. Won't see Peter II.

My prediction: if they chose someone looking to continue to uphold Church doctrine and tradition, the name will be John XXIV. If they're looking for reforms/changes, he'll take the name of whichever Pope changed things in the wake of Martin Luther and the Reformation. (Sorry, I'm not Catholic and don't know my history here.) In any case, they will avoid names that had anything to do with either the Crusades and the Inquisition, in an effort to continue efforts at dialogue with the Islamic world.
(Anonymous) on April 6th, 2005 11:01 am (UTC)
John Paul was chosen for a combination of spreading the Word and strengthening tradition.

No John Paul was chosen the first time because the previous two popes were John and Paul. It was chosen the second time because JP2 wanted people to have continuity with JP1 who died suddenly.
Elizabeth[info]soapdemon on April 6th, 2005 07:22 am (UTC)
Oh come on people, it's gotta be Lando. Yes.
(Anonymous) on April 6th, 2005 07:57 am (UTC)
Conon II, the Barbarian
Peter Paul (but no Mary)
SubUrban I
madfilkentist[info]madfilkentist on April 6th, 2005 10:07 am (UTC)
I was surprised to learn from your post that the name Alexander wasn't retired after Rodrigo "Alexander VI" Borgia. If that's true, I suppose anything is possible.
(Anonymous) on April 6th, 2005 10:47 am (UTC)
A Traditionalist
How about Pope Linus II.
Cassandra[info]trifles on April 6th, 2005 02:19 pm (UTC)
Hey, somewhat related to the names thing, PNH has recently put together a short post on people's positions on John Paul II, and the comments to that post are fascinating.

Then there's this.
Batshua[info]batshua on April 6th, 2005 04:30 pm (UTC)
I like Boniface.

Mostly because it sounds kinda dirty.

Shame on me. My Christian friends are going to come kill me and use my blood to make hot cross buns.

(Don't ask, we just had a very strange discussion about how Easter and Passover are alike and different.)
Wayman[info]wayman on April 6th, 2005 04:55 pm (UTC)
Alike: food object[s] are hidden and kids have to find it/them.

Different: only Easter celebrates a zombie. ("a corpse revived ... by a supernatural power" --American Heritage Dictionary)

I'm sure there are lots of other similarities and differences, but that's by far my favorite difference.
(no subject) - [info]batshua on April 6th, 2005 04:57 pm (UTC) Expand
(no subject) - [info]wayman on April 6th, 2005 05:16 pm (UTC) Expand
(no subject) - [info]batshua on April 6th, 2005 05:22 pm (UTC) Expand
(no subject) - [info]wayman on April 6th, 2005 05:27 pm (UTC) Expand
(no subject) - [info]batshua on April 6th, 2005 05:33 pm (UTC) Expand
(Anonymous) on April 6th, 2005 11:37 pm (UTC)
since most of us aren't even remotely familiar with the candidates, it's not much fun to think about.

The answer, my friend, to all your problems is:

Pope..? or Nope! (http://popeornope.nfshost.com/)
Sofer[info]sofer on April 7th, 2005 04:56 am (UTC)
I'm in favor of John Paul-John Paul. Or how about Leo Leo Leo Leo Leo Leo....
Wherdragon[info]wherdragon on April 7th, 2005 07:43 am (UTC)
I vote for a Pius, on the idea of good imagry and tradition, though I think a Victor could be quite nice. Church Triumphant over... whatever? Somehow I doubt we're in for another John Paul, at least I hope.

Or, if it's someone who's aiming to make big changes, he could take a completely non-Romanized name...
(Anonymous) on April 7th, 2005 01:35 pm (UTC)
Reformation Popes
Leo X, I would think (1513-1521) and Clement VII (1523-1535) are the Reformation Popes. I'm surprised anyone ever took those names again; both of those were two bad popes.

John II (533-535) was the first to change his name, so maybe they can start a new tradition of keeping their own names. Pope Karol (JPII's real name) would have had a nice ring to it.

Greg
自殺は無痛[info]manfire on April 7th, 2005 07:59 pm (UTC)
I think what this world needs is another Pope Hilarius.
(Anonymous) on April 7th, 2005 08:07 pm (UTC)
Urban
Actually, Pope Urban VIII actually existed in real history. Maffeo Cardinal Barberini was elected in 1623 and took the name Urban VIII. He served until his death in 1644. Urban IX would be the next Urban.
(Anonymous) on April 12th, 2005 01:28 pm (UTC)
There's something about 'Mary'....
I keep waiting for an innovative Papal candidate to go with "Mary" as one of his names. (I don't think a male Pope would ever JUST be called "Pope Mary," but anyway...)

So how about "Pope Mary Immaculate" or "Pope Mary May I" or "Pope Mary Clarence" or "Pope Peter Paul Mary?"

If not, then "Pope Joe" or "Pope Bob" will suffice.