Right combination of heart and head that Church needs

“A Jesuit intellect and a Franciscan spirit may be exactly the combination of heart and head that the Church needs at this time.”

That was the reaction of Lord Alton, the former British Liberal Democrat MP, to the election of Pope Francis.

He sees the choice of name as having dual significance, evoking thoughts of the Church’s most revered saint, Francis of Assisi, and Francis Xavier, evangelist and co-founder of the Jesuit Order of which the new pope is a member.

The name a pope chooses can send a theological and political message and honour someone of spiritual significance to him, according to Chester Gillis, a professor of theology at Georgetown University in the US.

“In 2005, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger chose to be known as Pope Benedict XVI. The name recalled St Benedict, the patron saint of Europe. It also paid homage to Pope Benedict XV,” he told Religion News Service.

“Pope Francis chose a name that reflects St Francis of Assisi’s humble ministry — and his own. St Francis renounced family wealth to live with and serve the poor.”

The new pope, son of middle-class Italian immigrants, is known as a humble man who doesn’t partake in luxuries. He didn’t live in the ornate church mansion in Buenos Aires, where he was cardinal. He was known to use public transportation and to cook his own meals.

He showed compassion for the victims of HIV-Aids and in 2001, visited a hospice to kiss and wash the feet of 12 Aids patients.

His namesake, Francis of Assisi, was known to wash the feet of lepers.

Francis of Assisi was the founder of the Franciscan order of the Friars Minor who called upon his followers to adopt the humble brown robe of the Franciscans.

“Who doesn’t know Francis of Assisi, who abandoned everything from wealth and prestige and who became poor himself,” said Vatican spokesman Rev Thomas Rosica, explaining how the saint inspired Pope Francis’s name.

“Francis of Assisi is a great, great figure in the church but known especially for connecting with fellow Christians and many people outside the Christian family.”

It is customary for Catholic and Anglican churches to hold ceremonies blessing animals on his feast day of Oct 4.

Francis of Assisi is remembered for his prayer that he might be “a channel of peace” and that where there is hatred he might sow love. Even the former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher, not known for her humility, chose the words of Francis of Assisi when she became leader of the Conservative Party in 1979.

On Jun 18, 1939, Pope Pius XII named Francis a joint patron saint of Italy along with St Catherine of Siena.

St Francis Xavier, the co-founder of the Jesuits, was from a Basque noble family who eschewed his riches, dedicated his life to the poor and became an evangelist for Christianity beyond Europe. He travelled widely, leaving behind flourishing churches that were the foundations for the Catholic faith in Asia.