Saints preserve us

Cecil investigates the lives of the saints and how they got their halo on, while SDStaff paperbackwri [The Straight Dope] Saints preserve us By [The Straight Dope]( • Issue #20 • [View online]( Cecil investigates the lives of the saints and how they got their halo on, while SDStaff paperbackwriter checks out the names of the Pope. Threadspotting The best of the Straight Dope Message Board  May 15, 2020: [More proof (as if you needed it) that the Battle Against Ignorance is a long one](. Straight Dope Classic: March 15, 2002 [Illustration by Slug Signorino] Illustration by Slug Signorino [Who was the worst Catholic saint]( Dear Cecil: Who was the worst Catholic saint?  —  Curious, via the Internet  Cecil replies: This is a perennial topic of debate at my local saloon, right after “Who was the world’s greatest fighter?” (The other guys are evenly split between Joe Louis and Muhammad Ali, but I’m holding out for Ingemar Johannson.) The discussion is complicated by the fact that little is known about many saints. We don’t even know how many there are — the Catholic Church keeps no official tally, although Butler’s Lives of the Saints has 2,565 entries.  [Click here to keep reading](. Straight Dope Staff Report: October 5, 2015 [How does a new pope decide what name to take]( Dear Straight Dope:  How does a new pope decide what name to take? I mean, Pope Benedict XVI? Where do they come up with these names, anyway? — Neil Holverson SDStaff paperbackwriter replies: OK, so this question has been sitting in the inbox awhile. It’s still worth answering. Each pope decides on his own papal name. The announcement of Jorge Mario Cardinal Bergoglio’s elevation to the papacy acknowledged this self-selection: Annuntio vobis gaudium magnum: Habemus Papam! Eminentissimum ac reverendissimum Dominum, Dominum Georgium Marium Sanctae Romanae Ecclesiae Cardinalem Bergoglio, qui sibi nomen imposuit Franciscum. I announce to you a great joy: we have a Pope! The Most Eminent and Most Reverend Lord, Lord Jorge Mario Cardinal Bergoglio of the Holy Roman Church, who has conferred upon himself the name Francis.  [Click here to keep reading](. Straight Dope Classic: April 13, 1984 [Who decided saints have halos]( Dear Cecil: Tell me about halo. How and where and when did this come about? Who decided? Why do Buddhist artifacts have halo? Who else used it? — S.C., Chicago  Cecil replies: Your wish is my command, my little swamp turnip, but you might try to be a little less peremptory next time you write your Unca Cecil, who after all has been certified by God as Font of Universal Wisdom. The halo (also called a nimbus) has been around since the time of the Greeks and Romans, and was incorporated into Christian art sometime in the fourth century AD. The halo thing is actually pretty intricate. [Click here to keep reading](. Did you enjoy this issue? [The Straight Dope]( By [The Straight Dope]( Fighting ignorance since 1973. (It's taking longer than we thought.) [Tweet](    [Share]( If you don't want these updates anymore, please unsubscribe [here](. If you were forwarded this newsletter and you like it, you can subscribe [here](. Powered by [Revue](