Bishops have been choosing mottoes for a very long time in the Catholic Church — probably about 1,000 years, at least.

And the episcopal motto can sometimes convey something important about a bishop, including the Bishop of Rome, the pope.

Totus tuus (Totally yours) — addressed to the Blessed Virgin Mary — was the motto of Pope St. John Paul II and was reflected in the Marian character of his pontificate.

The pope was deeply Marian, promoting the spirituality of St. Louis-Marie du Montfort, proposing to Catholics the Luminous Mysteries of the rosary, and authoring the only Marian encyclical in the last roughly four decades, Redemptoris Mater, which was released in 1987.

Pope Benedict XVI’s campaign against what he called the “dictatorship of relativism,” was highlighted by, among others, his final encyclical Caritas in veritate, which is consistent with his motto, Cooperatores veritatis (Cooperators of the truth).

Pope Benedict released a trilogy of books titled Jesus of Nazareth, a presentation of the face of Jesus, true God and true man, in which, according to him, he “sought only to go beyond mere historical-critical interpretation, applying the new methodological criteria that allow us to make a properly theological interpretation of the Bible that naturally requires faith, without thereby wanting or being able in any way to renounce historical seriousness.”

Similarly, Pope Francis’ Miserando atque eligendo (By having mercy, by choosing him) succinctly explains his aim to focus the Petrine ministry on reaching out to the poor, migrants, and others marginalized in civil society.

Francis capped that focus by proclaiming an extraordinary jubilee year of mercy from 2015 to 2016, when he first sent out priests as missionaries of mercy to help people experience God’s mercy. Those priests number at least 1,258 today.

So where might the Church be headed when its next chapter begins with the election of a new pope?

It’s hard to say. But as the cardinals meet in conclave, the episcopal mottoes of some cardinal-electors could say something about how they might lead the Church.

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Cardinal Pietro Parolin

Quis nobis separabit a caritate Christi
(Who shall separate us from the love of Christ)?

From the epistle of St. Paul to the Romans, this pastoral motto is a reminder that Christ reconciled in himself humanity and the God who is love (Romans 8:35).

It signifies a shepherd’s commitment to guarding and strengthening the Church’s relationship with God in spite of every challenge that comes its way as it journeys through time. To paraphrase St. Paul, nothing can separate the baptized from the love of Christ, “neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation.”

Cardinal Matteo Zuppi

Gaudium Domini fortitudo vestra
(The joy of the Lord is your strength)

From the book of prophet Nehemiah, this motto of renewal is part of an exhortation against sadness addressed to the Hebrew people after their return from exile (Nehemiah 8:10).

For Christians, it is a reminder that the power of the baptized has a divine and joyful origin, propels them forward, and must not be doused by dark or discouraging historical experiences.

And for Zuppi, a member of the Sant’Egidio movement, it is meant to evoke a call to joyful service to the poor, the emphasis of his movement.

Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle

Dominus est
(It is the Lord)

From the gospel according to St. John, this Paschal motto quotes the Beloved Disciple’s identification of the resurrected Jesus standing on the shore after he and six others led by St. Peter miraculously caught a large number of fish at the end of a night of fishing without any catch (John 21:7).

Tagle has himself often emphasized this story in his preaching — and, because of his emphasis on evangelization, has encouraged Catholics to anticipate a spiritual haul in the proclamation of the Gospel.

Pierbattista Pizzaballa

Sufficit tibi gratia mea
(My grace is sufficient for you)

From the second epistle of St. Paul to the Corinthians, this mystical motto quotes the voice he heard in a supernatural experience, the voice of the Lord telling him that his thorn in the flesh will not be taken away because it occasions the Lord’s demonstration of his power at its greatest (II Corinthians 12:9).

For believers, this is an invitation to recognize that human frailty and suffering may not be removed by the Lord but need to be accepted as happy faults that work as signs pointing to the One from whom redemption comes.

Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost

In illo uno unum
(In the one Christ we are one)

From a sermon by St. Augustine — sensible for an Augustinian bishop — this ecclesial motto can be traced back to St, Paul’s theology of the oneness of all the baptized in the mystical Body of Christ even amid the diversity of the body’s members (I Corinthians 12:12-13).

Prevost has not made many public statements as a cardinal, but he has urged Catholics to welcome and embrace one another, notwithstanding differences as a testimony to communion in Christ.

Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo

Omnia omnibus
(All things to all men)

From the first letter of St. Paul to the Corinthians, the missionary motto comes from the saint’s explanation of his method to saving as many of his listeners as possible (I Corinthians 9:19). This is an invitation for the baptized to be creative in the work of bringing the good news of Christ to the world, to be evangelizers responsive to people’s unique needs in order to effectively bring them to a salvific encounter with the Lord.

Cardinal Péter Erdő

Initio non erat nisi gratia
(In the beginning there was nothing but grace)

A statement that reflects the openings of the book of Genesis (“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth”) and the fourth gospel (“In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God”), this theological motto emphasizes the primacy of grace in the life of the Church (Genesis 1:1; John 1:1).

It invites Christians to contextualize every human experience in the light of grace.

Cardinal Dominique Mamberti

Eritis mihi testes
(You shall be my witnesses)

Echoing some of Jesus’ last words to the apostles before his ascension into heaven per St. Luke’s account in the acts of the apostles (Acts 1:8), this motto for holiness is a reminder of the universality of the mission of the Church for the salvation of the world, which Christ has made dependent on the prayer, preaching, and testimonies of life, empowered by the Holy Spirit, of the ones who bear his name.

Cardinal Jean-Marc Aveline

Fiat mihi secundum verbum tuum
(Be it done unto me according to your word)

Taken from the gospel according to St. Luke, this Marian and Christological motto repeats the response of the Blessed Virgin Mary when told that she was to be the mother of Christ (Luke 1:38), a response that Jesus echoes in the garden of Gethsemane (Luke 22:42).

For Christians, this is an invitation to docility, obedience and fidelity to the divine will.

Cardinal Anders Arborelius

In laudem gloriae
(In praise of glory)

Drawn from the letter of St. Paul to the Ephesians (1:14), this liturgical motto is frequently sung by those who pray the Liturgy of the Hours, the official public prayer of the Church. St. Paul, having blessed God for his great generosity, urges those who hope in Jesus to ensure that their whole life becomes an act of praise for God’s glory.

For Christians, this is an invitation to integrity, a life that enfleshes what they profess so that their whole being, too, becomes worship, an extension of liturgy.