The Interim Pope Is Called Kevin. Why Are We All Laughing?
It’s a strange day when the most powerful religious figure in the world is a Kevin. And yet, here we are. Following an unexpected papal resignation, the Church has appointed an interim pope — and his name is Kevin. Kevin.
Reactions have been, predictably, giddy. It’s not that Kevin isn’t a perfectly respectable name (hello, Kevin Costner, Kevin Bacon, every third boy in a 1980s classroom). It’s just that Kevin doesn’t sound like someone who should be addressing the faithful from the balcony of St Peter’s Basilica. Kevin sounds like someone who's going to fix your Wi-Fi, not deliver a blessing Urbi et Orbi.
There’s a certain weight we subconsciously expect from a pope’s name: a Gregory, a Benedict, a Pius. Names that carry the weight of history, persecution, martyrdom — or at least a ...