When Robert Francis Prevost stepped out on the balcony as Pope Leo XIV, he reintroduced himself to the world. But how did he choose his regnal name? “There are very few rules for the man at the top, ...

In 533, a Roman named Mercurius took the first symbolic papal name out of transparent necessity. Named after Mercury, the Roman god of commerce, the newly-elected pope didn’t think it wise to keep his ...

Cardinal Robert Prevost has taken the name Pope Leo XIV, becoming the first American to lead the Roman Catholic Church in its 2,000-year history. His decision to adopt the name "Leo" places him in a ...

Pope Leo XIV's choice of name signals a commitment to social justice which is very much in line with the late Pope Francis ' global ministry. “I think a lot us had a question mark when they elected an ...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — When Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost was elected pope on Thursday, he chose the name Leo XIV — joining a centuries-old tradition in which each new pontiff selects a name with ...

SCHIAVON, Italy - Pope Leo XIV's choice of name signals a commitment to social justice which is very much in line with the late Pope Francis' global ministry. Related: León XIV: Por qué el nuevo Papa ...

Like the other ceremonies and traditions that accompany the advent of a new pope, his newly chosen name will be imbued with centuries of Catholic history and dissected for its many layers of meaning.

Much history and tradition surround the death of a pope and the selection of a new one. * Cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church meet at the Vatican and pick a new pope in a meeting called a conclave, ...