Robert Prevost got up on Thursday and went to work. It was what he did every day. He had talked with his brother a couple days before. They talked about Wordle, “Words with Friends,” the things they always talked about. Bob, as his brother and friends knew him, was doing well.
Did I mention that he was going to work in Rome, at the Vatican in particular. He was joining 134 other cardinals to elect the next pope!
He was the one chosen!
And right off the bat he had to decide on a name.
Pope Leo XIV
In doing so he aligned himself with a pope who served from 1878 to 1903 and is best known for his 1891 encyclical “Rerum Novarum,” which strongly defended the rights of working people to a living wage and set the tone for the church’s modern social doctrine. He became known as the “pope of the workers.”
This choice tells us something about the kind of pope “Bob Prevost” hopes to be.
It got me wondering. What name would I choose to signify whose legacy I hope to continue?
What professor, minister, preacher, prophet would I want to align myself?
What about you?
In your profession, who is the person you want to emulate?
What name would you choose?
Feel free to share in the comments, and why.