Conclave live: Black smoke signals no new pope yet; the seven cardinals most discussed last night

Sky News

08-05-2025

What's in a pope's name?
Much of the world probably hasn't heard of Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio - you knew him as Pope Francis.
Newly elected popes choose a papal name after their election - and the Argentinian took the name of the 13th-century St Francis of Assisi.
This was a man who had rejected wealth and wanted to care for the poor, so choosing his name was no coincidence.
Francis's successor will face a similar question: what name will he choose and what signal could it send?
John
John is the most common name chosen by past popes.
It is also a name Francis often suggested for his successor.
It would evoke Pope John XXIII (who led the church from 1958 to 1963), a man often referred to as "the good pope".
John helped work behind the scenes to de-escalate the Cuban Missile Crisis among his work as the pontiff.
Paul
The name Paul could honour Pope Paul VI (pontiff from 1963 to 1978).
He is generally seen as a more cautious figure and a careful consolidator.
Some cardinals say, quietly, that after Francis, a new Pope Paul is what is needed.
A Gregory, Clement, Benedict or Pius?
Other names previous pontiffs have landed on include Gregory, Clement, Leo and Pius.
There is also Benedict, Francis's conservative predecessor.
Or a new pope could even decide to be called Francis II, which would be taken as a clear signal of the continuation of the late pope's agenda.
Cardinal Albino Luciani, elected pope in 1978, decided he could not pick just one name.
He chose John Paul, to honour both of his immediate predecessors.
However, he died 33 days later.
The next pope, Cardinal Karol Wojtyla, chose John Paul II, honouring all three of the popes before him.