What's in a name? Cardinal Stafford on 'Francis' on St George's Day
(Vatican Radio) Thursday, April 23rd, the Church remembers St George – the late third century Roman soldier who was martyred in the year 303 under the emperor Diocletian, and whose memory is celebrated with loving devotion in both East and West. It is also the name day – or “onomastic” – of Pope Francis, who was born and baptized “Jorge” – the Spanish form of George.
Among the Holy Father’s many well-wishers on this day is the Church’s Major Penitentiary-emeritus, Cardinal James Francis Stafford, who shared with Vatican Radio a profound and penetrating reflection on the significance of the regnal name, Francis, which the Holy Father chose for himself upon his election to the See of Peter just over two years ago. “The most striking fact of our Holy Father’s witness to the world is the name that he has chosen for his pontificate: Pope Francis,” he said. “That name and that choice is more than just a whim; it is a vision,” he added.
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Cardinal Stafford concluded his reflection with a prayer, that the vision of the Church, which God gave to the great saint of Assisi and which the Holy Father recalled to the whole Church in choosing the name, Francis, might continue to inspire and to inform Christians everywhere. “That bishops, priests, deacons, married people, lay people, religious men and women, all strive to grow in holy simplicity,” which was the hallmark of St. Francis of Assisi’s holy character, he prayed, “and so we pray that the HolyF ather’s vision will now become our vision – the vision of St. Francis of Assisi.”
Pope Francis was born Jorge Mario Bergoglio in Argentina on December 17th, 1936, and was baptized a week later, on Christmas night.
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