This morning the Pope held an audience with the 6,000 reporters from 81 different countries who have been in Rome throughout the conclave. \u00a0During the audience he explained how he came about choosing the name Francis.<\/p>\n
Some people wanted to know why the Bishop of Rome wished to be called Francis. Some thought of Francis Xavier, Francis De Sales, and also Francis of Assisi. I will tell you the story.<\/p>\n
During the election, I was seated next to the Archbishop Emeritus of S\u00e3o Paolo and Prefect Emeritus of the Congregation for the Clergy, Cardinal Claudio Hummes [OFM]: a good friend, a good friend!<\/p>\n
When things were looking dangerous, he encouraged me. And when the votes reached two thirds, there was the usual applause, because the Pope had been elected. And he gave me a hug and a kiss, and said: \u201cDon\u2019t forget the poor!\u201d And those words came to me: the poor, the poor. Then, right away, thinking of the poor, I thought of Francis of Assisi<\/b>. Then I thought of all the wars, as the votes were still being counted, till the end. Francis is also the man of peace. That is how the name came into my heart: Francis of Assisi. For me, he is the man of poverty, the man of peace, the man who loves and protects creation; these days we do not have a very good relationship with creation, do we? He is the man who gives us this spirit of peace, the poor man \u2026 How I would like a Church which is poor and for the poor!\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n
Afterwards, people were joking with me. \u201cBut you should call yourself Hadrian, because Hadrian VI was the reformer, we need a reform\u2026\u201d And someone else said to me: \u201cNo, no: your name should be Clement\u201d. \u201cBut why?\u201d \u201cClement XV: thus you pay back Clement XIV who suppressed the Society of Jesus!\u201d These were jokes.<\/p>\n
I love all of you very much, I thank you for everything you have done. I pray that your work will always be serene and fruitful, and that you will come to know ever better the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the rich reality of the Church\u2019s life. I commend you to the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Star of Evangelization, and with cordial good wishes for you and your families, each of your families. I cordially impart to all of you my blessing. Thank you.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
This morning the Pope held an audience with the 6,000 reporters from 81 different countries who have been in Rome throughout the conclave. \u00a0During the audience he explained how he came about choosing the name Francis. Some people wanted to know why the Bishop of Rome wished to be called Francis. Some thought of Francis […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2533,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-278","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n