| Jorge Bergoglio, Pope Francis, I appears on the central balcony of St Peter's as the Roman Catholic Church's 266th leader. |
The Popes changing his name after election has a theological explanation rooted in the Bible. God changed the name of all people he assigned special missions to. One example of this is Abraham in the book of Genesis.
"No longer will you be called Abram; your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations." Gen 17.5
Jesus, also changed the name of several of his disciples upon assigning them missions, St. Peter and St. Paul being two examples of this. The custom gave way to the tradition of Popes changing their name when they are elected as a successor to Peter.
Famous examples of this include:
Benedict XVI who referenced in his name Benedict XV, the Pope that had to mediate during World War I.
Leo XIV who chose to honor Leo XIII, the Pope that initiated the Church's social doctrine in the midst of the Industrial Revolution.
Gregory XVII, the great reformer, who referenced St. Gregory the Great and Saint Gregory VII who were prolific reformers.
The decision is personal. The elected Pope often chooses the name of a past Pope that personally inspires him or that he seeks to emulate. The Pope can also break ground and chose a new name.
Theoretically, in the new future we could have Pope Tupac Shakur II, referencing the hip-hop artist that fought for the preservation of west-coast rap but I wouldn't hold my breathe on that one.
