I have been remiss in pointing this out:

It is the last day of Aquinas and More’s journey of faith to see if their online Catholic store can carry on.

You may read more here about why so many believe their store is worth saving.

The goal was $250,000. They have raised $58,599.

It is not too late to help!

Go here to donate.

I helped out, if you can it would be great to support this totally faithful Catholic store which provides outstanding support and products you can totally trust.

Thanks to Happy Catholic for the reminder.

Here is a point I tried to make the other day that Joanna Bogle makes much better:

…of the media trying to stir things up by seeking to stress differences in lifestyle between Popes Benedict and Francis.

Pope Francis has many admirable qualities. But to suggest that he is the first Pope in history to live a simple and austere life is a bit absurd. Pope Benedict lived in a modest flat near the bus depot before he was elected to the Papacy, and walked every day to work with his battered briefcase. People often assumed he was just an ordinary priest, and asked him the way to tourist sites, etc, only discovering afterwards that they had been talking to the famous Cardinal Ratzinger…

John Paul II lived in complete poverty, gave away everything, even a warm coat given to him in the bitter cold, and shoes…the sisters who looked after him as Pope despaired because he wanted them to give away any new clothes and insisted on wearing old ones until they were beyond any further mending. When he died, he left almost no possessions except a photograph of his parents, and his worn old scapular..

On the same theme Amy Welborn posts Surprise! Pope takes walk through Rome!

Oh…wait….it was that other one.

Pope Benedict XVI made his first public appearance on the streets of Rome on Wednesday afternoon, April 20, as he visited his old apartment near Vatican City to transfer some belongings to his new home in the apostolic palace.

The newly elected Pope, clothed completely in the distinctive white vestments of the papacy, caught onlookers by surprise when he chose to travel on foot, walking the few hundred yards to the apartment in the Citta Leonina where he had lived for years. When the news spread that the Pontiff was walking through the city, hundreds of people quickly gathered, and he spent some time in front of the apartment building, greeting the people and blessing young children. Italian police and Vatican security officials did their best to control the crowd, preserving some breathing room for the Pontiff.

After a short stay in his old apartment, the Pontiff reappeared, entering a black car that was waiting for him at the entrance of the building. He paused again to wave to the crowd, turning slowly from one direction to another so that he could greet as many as possible. The crowd burst into cheers of “Long live the Pope!” and the chant that has already become familiar: “Benedetto!” Pope Benedict later commented that he was “very moved” as he resumed direct contact with the faithful.

One of the surprises from the papal election was the age of Pope Francis. From the media, to vaticanistas, to the expectation of many Catholics – many speculated on a younger man being elected. At work I was asked about the Pope’s age and one person said “couldn’t they find someone younger?” I also bought into the expectation of somebody relatively younger somewhere in the sixties or very early seventies.

In some ways it is surprising that a man only two years younger than Pope Benedict XVI was elected. The pope’s resignation due to age you would have thought would have weighed more in the thinking of the cardinal-electors. Perhaps though Benedict’s resignation might have actually provided a way forward for the election of Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio. That resignation due to age is now more opened up and age might now be less of a consideration than at one time. Historically the large majority of papacies has been 10 years or fewer. Blessed John Paul II’s length as pope is really a historical oddity, although occurring more in the last two centuries such as with Pius IX and Leo XIII. Advances in medicine will certainly skew this over time.

It is not surprising the desire for a younger physically active pope. Considering that in most cultures now there is a worship of youth and a more slanted view towards the elderly. The celebrity focused culture puts a shorter shelf life on people’s attention and aging gracefully now means keeping up with the latest injections and surgery. We don’t want to look at the ravages of age because we don’t want to think about our own. Ironically the Culture of Death really does not want to think about their own inevitable demise. The wisdom that age can bring is not a commodity we much care about.

Pope Benedict XVI “Visit to the Community of Sant’Egidio’s home for the elderly” on 12 Nov 2012:

I come to you as Bishop of Rome, but also as an old man visiting his peers. It would be superfluous to say that I am well acquainted with the difficulties, problems and limitations of this age and I know that for many these difficulties are more acute due to the economic crisis. At times, at a certain age, one may look back nostalgically at the time of our youth when we were fresh and planning for the future. Thus at times our gaze is veiled by sadness, seeing this phase of life as the time of sunset. This morning, addressing all the elderly in spirit, although I am aware of the difficulties that our age entails I would like to tell you with deep conviction: it is beautiful to be old! At every phase of life it is necessary to be able to discover the presence and blessing of the Lord and the riches they bring. We must never let ourselves be imprisoned by sorrow! We have received the gift of longevity. Living is beautiful even at our age, despite some “aches and pains” and a few limitations. In our faces may there always be the joy of feeling loved by God and not sadness.

Pope Francis to the Cardinals:

Dear brother Cardinals, take courage! Half of us are advanced in age. Old age is – as I like to say – the seat of life’s wisdom. The old have acquired the wisdom that comes from having journeyed through life, like the old man Simeon, the old prophetess Anna in the Temple. And that wisdom enabled them to recognize Jesus. Let us pass on this wisdom to the young: like good wine that improves with age, let us give life’s wisdom to the young. I am reminded of a German poet who said of old age: Es is ruhig, das Alter, und fromm: it is a time of tranquillity and prayer. And also a time to pass on this wisdom to the young. You will now return to your respective sees to continue your ministry, enriched by the experience of these days, so full of faith and ecclesial communion. This unique and incomparable experience has enabled us to grasp deeply all the beauty of the Church, which is a glimpse of the radiance of the risen Christ: one day we will gaze upon that beautiful face of the risen Christ!

So now we have further information on why the Pope choose Francis.

VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis said that “as things got dangerous” in the conclave voting, he was sitting next to his “great friend” Brazilian Cardinal Claudio Hummes “who comforted me.”
When the former Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio went over the 77 votes needed to become pope, he said, Cardinal Hummes “hugged me, kissed me and said, ‘Don’t forget the poor.’”

Pope Francis told thousands of journalists March 16 that he took to heart the words of his friend and chose to be called after St. Francis of Assisi, “the man of poverty, the man of peace, the man who loves and protects creation,” the same created world “with which we don’t have such a good relationship.”

“How I would like a church that is poor and that is for the poor,” he told the more than 5,000 media representatives who came from around the world for the conclave and his election. (source)

Thinking again on regnal names I think the use of Francis gives us another unique distinction. St. Francis of Assisi baptismal name was actually Giovanni Bernardone. His name was latter altered to Francesco “Frenchman” either by his father because of his fondness, it would seem, for France or by others for the same reason. Regardless it was not his baptismal name and maybe was more of a nickname. So we have the first regnal name based on a nickname. Well maybe not exactly true since Peter our first Pope was born Simon and became Peter. Although you couldn’t say it was exactly a nickname. When Jesus names you something it becomes almost ontological and name changes in the Bible are always important.

So we have a Pope of Italian parentage from Argentina with the name “Frenchman”. Don’t you just love the universality of the Church?

It is always interesting how origin’s of a pope’s name and specifically how they came about. Mostly, as in this case, in the last moments.

It does make me wonder how many, if any, walk into the Conclave with a regnal name picked out? Probably most that do walk out with their given name.

I thought this piece of information was rather funny and am glad the Pope shared it.

Pope Francis also said some had suggested jokingly that he, a Jesuit, should have taken the name Clement XV “to get even with Clement XIV who suppressed the Society of Jesus” in the 1700s.

Ha!