This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2005, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

From the moment Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was announced as Pope Benedict XVI, the question emerged: why the name Benedict?

Did he choose the name as a tribute to St. Benedict, who was born into the tumultuous time at the end of the Roman Empire and is considered the father of western monasticism? Was he honoring Benedictine spirituality, which has deep roots in his native Bavaria and is practiced at two northern Utah monasteries?

Or, as most speculate, was Ratzinger saying that he will emulate the most recent pope of the same name, Benedict XV?

Bishop George Niederauer of Utah's Catholic diocese said it was that early 20th century pope that first came to his mind. Benedict XV, an Italian archbishop, became pope in 1914 and is remembered most for his attempts at peacemaking.

He proposed a peace plan to end World War I in 1917, but was essentially ignored. "The French called him the German pope and the Germans called him the French pope," Niederauer said Tuesday. "He was so dedicated to war relief that when he died in 1922, the Vatican was almost bankrupt and they had to borrow money for his funeral."

The name Benedict might hold a particular poignancy for the German cardinal.

Glenn Olsen, a history professor at the University of Utah, said the new pope tries to spend a week on retreat at a Benedictine monastery in Bavaria each year.

Sister Mary Zenzen, prioress of the Mount Benedict Monastery in South Ogden, said Benedictine spirituality has always been strong in Germany. It was from Bavaria that members of her order came to the United States in 1852. The order expanded from Minnesota to Ogden in the early 1950s to build a hospital at the invitation of community leaders.

The nuns at the Mount Benedict Monastery are pleased the new pope has chosen the name, which in Latin means "blessing," she said.

"That is a significant word in our church at a time when we need to be open to all kinds of folks," Zenzen said. "He needs to be a blessing for many people given the challenges that face our world and, in a smaller way, our church. We need to be a blessing for one another."

These nuns like the monks at the Abbey of the Holy Trinity in Huntsville, live by the Rule of St. Benedict, an Italian, born in about A.D. 480, just after the official fall of Rome. He brought a simple plan for order and peace into a period of confusion which gripped the Catholic Church.

The rule set out how monks and nuns should live in communities, and blended old ways with new, advising humility, service, obedience and hospitality. Such monasteries helped keep the Catholic traditions and learning intact during the Middle Ages. Today, many monasteries still follow Benedict's rule and many Catholics wear St. Benedict medals as a prayer for peace and strength against temptation and Satan's influence.

---

Tribune reporter Leon D'Souza contributed to this report.