When the
cardinals of the world pick John Paul II's successor, they may well be choosing
the next-to-last pope.
The pope who then follows this choice in the
Chair of St. Peter will be the last pope, and after his reign Rome will be
destroyed.
Such has been the prophecy of St. Malachy, an Irish bishop
who at his death in 1148 A.D. was discovered to have left behind a prophetic
list of all future popes beginning with Pope Celestine II, whose papacy began in
1143 A.D.
Malachy included a single line in Latin identifying a
characteristic of each pope.
Historians say Malachy's prediction –
wherein he listed just 112 popes – has been amazingly accurate.
According to his list, there are just two more popes after the late John
Paul II.
Here are the seven last popes as identified from St. Malachy's
list:
106. Pius XII 1939 - 1958 Eugenio Pacelli Pastor Angelicus
Translated: An Angelic Shepherd
107. John XXIII 1958 - 1963
Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli Pastor Et Natua Translated: Pastor and
Mariner
108. Paul VI 1963 - 1978 Giovanni Battista Montini Flos
Florum Translated: Flower of Flowers
109. John Paul I 1978 -
1978 Albino Luciani De Medietate Lunae Translated: Of the Half Moon
110. John Paul II 1978 - 2005 Karol Jozef Wojtyla De Labore
Solis Translated: From the Toil of the Sun
111. The next pope
"Gloria Olivae" Translated: The Glory of the Olive
112. The last
pope! "Petrus Romanus" Translated: Peter the Roman
Wrote St.
Malachy of the last pope: "In extreme persecution, the seat of the Holy Roman
Church will be occupied by Peter the Roman, who will feed the sheep through many
tribulations, at the term of which the city of seven hills will be destroyed,
and the formidable Judge will judge the people. The End."
According to
his biographer St. Bernard of Clairvaux, in his book "Life of Saint Malachy,"
the saint was known to have the gift of prophesy and had even predicted the
exact day and hour of his own death. Saint Malachy was canonized in 1190 by Pope
Clement III.
While in Rome in 1139, Saint Malachy is said to have gone
into a trance and received a vision in which he foresaw all the popes from the
death of Innocent II until the end of time.
Afterward he wrote a few
words about each pope and gave the manuscript to Pope Innocent II, who is said
to have deposited it in Vatican Archives, where it lay forgotten until it was
discovered in 1590 and published. At the time, some questioned its authenticity
and it has been the subject of debate ever since.
The manuscript
contains 112 prophecies, which scholars have matched with each of the 110 popes
and anti-popes since Innocent II .
Here are the prophecies for the most
recent popes:
Paul VI. The words of the 108th prophecy are "Flos Florum"
(Flower of Flowers). The 108th pope after Innocent II was Paul VI (1963-78). His
coat of arms included three fleurs-de-lis (iris blossoms).
John Paul I.
The 109th is "De Medietate Lunae" (Of the Half Moon). The corresponding pope was
John Paul I (1978-78), who was born in the diocese of Belluno (beautiful moon)
and was baptized Albino Luciani (white light). He became pope on August 26,
1978, when the moon appeared exactly half full. It was in its waning phase. He
died the following month, soon after an eclipse of the moon.
John Paul
II. The 110th is "De Labore Solis" (Of the Solar Eclipse, or From the Toil of
the Sun). The corresponding pope was John Paul II (1978-2005). John Paul II was
born on May 8, 1920 during an eclipse of the sun. Like the sun, he came out of
the East (Poland). Like the sun, he visited countries all around the globe.
Today the final two
prophecies are yet to be fulfilled:
The 111th prophecy is "Gloria
Olivae" (The Glory of the Olive). The meaning of the olive is unclear. The Order
of Saint Benedict – not St. Malachy – has claimed that this pope will come from
its ranks and Saint Benedict himself prophesied that before the end of the world
his Order, known also as the Olivetans, will triumphantly lead the Catholic
Church in its final fight against evil.
The 112th prophecy says, "In the
final persecution of the Holy Roman Church there will reign Petrus Romanus
(Peter the Roman), who will feed his flock amid many tribulations; after which
the seven-hilled city will be destroyed and the dreadful Judge will judge the
people.
