PAPAL MOTTOES

MOTTO OF POPE FRANCIS

MISERANDO ATQUE ELIGENDO

"Miserando atque eligendo", meaning lowly but chosen; literally means 'by having mercy, by choosing him' in Latin.

Pope Francis chose this motto when he was still a bishop. It was taken from the Homilies of St. Bede the Venerable on the gospel of St. Matthew. It refers to the calling of Matthew, the tax collector to be Christ's apostle. St. Bede explained that Christ saw Matthew with His eyes of mercy and chose him to be His apostle.

St. Bede's homily was centered on God's divine mercy and is reproduced in the Liturgy of the Hours on the Feast of St. Matthew. This homily took a special meaning on Pope Francis' young life and his spiritual journey. At the age of 17, on the feast of St. Matthew in 1953, Jorge Bergoglio (Pope Francis) felt the touch of God's divine mercy and the call to religious life following in the footsteps of St. Ignatius of Loyola.

MOTTO OF POPE BENEDICT XVI

COOPERATORES VERITATIS

Pope Benedict XVI's episcopal motto "Cooperatores Veritatis" means 'Cooperators of Truth'. Even though this motto does not appear in his papal coat of arms, it remains as his personal motto. He explained, "I choose that motto because in today's world, the theme of truth is omitted almost entirely, as something too great for man, and yet everything collapses if truth is missing."

MOTTO OF POPE JOHN PAUL II

TOTUS TUUS

"Totus Tuus" is a Latin phrase which means 'I am totally yours.' This motto is addressed to the Blessed Virgin Mary.

During World Ward II, young Karol Wojtyla (Pope John Paul II) worked as a factory worker at a chemical plant. During this time, he came upon a book entitled True Devotion to Mary by St. Louis Marie de Montfort. The book made him understand that devotion to Mary is actually Christocentric. His motto was his expression of his total abandonment and consecration to the mother of God.

References:
http://www.vatican.va
http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/resources
Crossing the Threshold of Hope by His Holiness John Paul II, ISBN 0-671-00047-0