Papal name

The pontificial name is given in Latin by virtue of the pope's status as bishop of Rome and head of the Catholic Church.

The full title, rarely used, of the Catholic pope in English is: "His Holiness [papal name], Bishop of Rome, Vicar of Jesus Christ, Successor of the Prince of the Apostles, Supreme Pontiff of the Universal Church, Primate of Italy, Archbishop and Metropolitan of the Roman Province, Sovereign of the Vatican City State, Servant of the servants of God".

Honorary titles attributed to the Hierarch of the Alexandrine Throne also include: During the first centuries of the church, the bishops of Rome continued to use their baptismal names after their elections.

In the 10th century, clerics from beyond the Alps, especially Germany and France, acceded to the papacy and replaced their foreign-sounding names with more traditional ones.

Names of immediate or distant predecessors, mentors, saints, or even family members – as was the case with John XXIII – have been adopted.

[1] Often the new pontiff's choice of name upon being elected to the papacy is seen as a signal to the world of whom the new pope will emulate, what policies he will seek to enact, or even the length of his reign.

Probably because of the controversial 15th-century antipope known as John XXIII, this name was avoided for over 500 years until the election in 1958 of Cardinal Angelo Roncalli.

The senior cardinal deacon or cardinal protodeacon then appears on the balcony of Saint Peter's to proclaim the new pope by his birth name, and announce his papal name: Annuntio vobis gaudium magnum: Habemus Papam!