Expect more babies born after the papal visit to be named after the current pope.
I was talking with Jem Sullivan, a professor of theology at Dominican House of Studies near Catholic University and the adoptive mom of a little boy named...well, you've guessed it.

It all started in October 2004, and she and her husband, Scott, traveled to Italy for an art exhibition. They decided to go to Subiaco, the Italian site where the original Saint Benedict — at the age of 14 — lived as a hermit in the late fifth century before he began founding monasteries.

"We always had a fondness for St. Benedict," she told me. "We fell in love with the place. It was mountainous and absolutely breathtaking. On this amazing hill, you have carved into the rock the actual cave in which he lived. We were in that cave and we looked at each other and said, 'That's the name of our son.'
"

Five months later, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger picked Benedict as his new name. In August 2005, a little boy was born in Guatemala. He eventually came north to live with the Sullivans.

"There is a Catholic tradition of naming your child after the present pope and there are a lot of boys named John Paul," his mom told me. "I am fascinated by the fact the pope picked the name Benedict which gives us a great insight into his papacy and the kind of issues that are important to him."

Such as?

LEFT: Benedict Sullivan, age 2 1/2. (Photo courtesy of Dominican House of Studies)

She reminded me that Saint Benedict was the founder of western monasticism and that religious orders to this day follow his "Rule of Saint Benedict" that regulated a life of prayer and work for his monks. This was also an era during the Dark Ages when persecuted Christians were transitioning to becoming the religion of the western world beginning with the crowning of King Charlemagne (by Pope Leo III) as head of the Holy Roman Empire on Dec. 25, 800 AD.

"He moved Christianity to a new phase," she said, "to where the monasteries became the centers of European villages and towns. Saint Benedict was instrumental in that transition. Likewise, the present pope wants to help Europe rediscover its Christian heritage."

— Julia Duin, assistant national editor/religion, The Washington Times