He is named for — well, duh — Pope John Paul the Great. And, in fact, we're hoping to have him baptized on May 1, the same day his namesake will be beatified in Rome by Pope Benedict XVI. (This will also be the day that our firstborn daughter Teresa will receive her First Holy Communion.)
The biggest question that remains at this point is what we will call most often him: "John Paul", "J.P.", "Johnny", and "Jack" are all in the running at this point.
Time will tell.
5 comments:
Congratulations to the proud Papa! He looks healthy. Salute!
I will be calling him "J.P." for whatever that may be worth.
Also, when did John Paul "the second" become John Paul "The Great" instead?
(Or is "the Second" correct?)
- Peter
(No, I'm not signing up for Blogspot.)
Nod,
Thanks!
Peter,
"J.P." seems to have some fans around here as well.
If I recall, some in the Church were referring to PJPII as "The Great" even while he was still alive, but since he died, the label has become much more popular.
In a way, I suppose, the phenomenon is a hearkening back to the early centuries of the Church, when saints were declared by popular acclaim. (The canonization process was centralized in the late 10th century -- if I recall -- and since then, canonizations have been done by the Pope.)
I should also point out that "John Paul the Great" is not a formally recognized title by the Church. There are two (possibly three; I forget) popes -- all of whom are also canonized saints -- in the Church's liturgical calendar who have the formal title "The Great": Leo, Gregory...and maybe also one other I can't recall off the top of my head.
CONGRATULATIONS!! John Paul looks so healthy, and I like his color. Johnny and JP both sound cool :-)
Were your sons born at home? I seem to remember another blog post that had one of your younger kids being born at home, with his sisters cradling him afterwards. I think it's wonderful that a baby is born in such a loving and peaceful environment instead of a hospital.
Sunnyday,
Yes, all three of our sons (and our 3rd daughter, Lucy) were born at home.
In fact, it was her godparents who convinced us to give homebirth a try, and we're really glad they did!
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