Last Benedict shepherded Catholic countries in World War

THE choice of papal names is often scrutinised for hints on what the new pontiff might have admired in previous popes with those same names.

As Pope, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger has taken the name Benedict XVI.

His predecessor, Benedict XV, who was pontiff from 1914 to 1922, had the task of providing leadership for Catholic countries arrayed on opposite sides of the First World War, each claiming a just war and praying for victory.

He declared neutrality, and made repeated protests against weapons such as poison gas, a move which angered both sides. Benedict XV strove to aid the innocent victims of war and offered a seven-point peace plan. It failed, but some of his proposals were included in Woodrow Wilson’s Fourteen Points, the US president’s wartime call for peace in January 1918.

An Italian, Benedict XV was born Giacomo della Chiesa in Genoa in 1854. Muslim Turkey erected a statue to him in Istanbul, honouring him as "the benefactor of all people, regardless of nation or creed". The Italian version of Benedict, "Benedetto," means one who is blessed, and the name’s Latin origin refers to a blessing.

However, previous Pope Benedicts have enjoyed far less illustrious papacies. Pope Benedict IX was only 12 when he assumed the Papacy and later sold the position to his godfather before removing him and retaking the role.

Benedict is one of a number of papal names of holy origin such as Clement ("mercy"), Innocent ("hopeful" as well as "innocent") and Pius ("pious").

John is the most popular, with 23 pontiffs taking that name. Two - John Paul I and John Paul II - used it in a double name. There have been 16 Gregories and, now, 16 Benedicts.