The Jesuits are a proud bunch: intellectually rigorous, disciplined, some say arrogant.

They are superb teachers. While they take a vow of poverty, some younger Jesuits, college professors, are marked by their fondness for sports cars.

Twelve years ago, a Jesuit chose the Papal name “Francis.”

I was amazed by that.

St. Francis, that tiny, gentle but driven man from the thirteenth century, identified with the poor. He lived a humble life–he rejected the wealth his father had intended for him–and, of course, is known best for his love of animals and for the natural world.

So Jose Mario Bergoglio, Jesuit, changed his name to “Francis.” And then he lived up to it.

We’ve been blessed.