What a fun way to start a blog! I can only speculate on a name if Ratzinger is selected and he decides to use a variation of his own name....about as likely as George bu$h becoming the Pope!
Let's see Pope Rats Zinger1, Pope Zinger, Pope Ratz,...... hehehe!
DER SPIEGEL asks........Pope Ringo George I?This week the cardinals are sequestered in Vatican City as they undergo the arduous and mystery-bathed process of electing a successor to John Paul II. But after a pope is chosen, the first question he will be asked -- either by Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger if he isn't tapped as the man in the white robe or someone else if he is -- will be what his name should be. Oddly, in this otherwise strictly regulated process, there are no rules regarding the naming of popes - each can choose whatever moniker he wants.
The British have long joked that John Paul II should be succeeded by George Ringo I as the ultimate tribute to the Beatles. Sadly, there's fat chance of this highly original idea coming to fruition. In the history of the papacy, only one pope has taken office with a name shared by no pope before him: Pope Lando, who had a very brief stint at the helm of the Catholic Church from 913-914. Generally, popes are conservative in choosing their names - and the names they adopt from previous papacies often reflect the traditions the new pope will adopt. Karol Wojtyla, or John Paul II, used his name as an homage to John Paul I, the "laughing pope," who only served 33 days in office. Odds suggest the new pope will have one of these common papal names: John (which has appeared 23 times), Gregory (16), Benedict (15), Clement (14), Leo (13), Innocent (13), Pius (12), Boniface (9), Alexander (8) and Paul (6).
This just begs the question: Has anyone invented a pope name game yet? If so, please send to us here. spon_feedback@spiegel.de
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