St. Malachy's Prophecy - Will the next Pope be the last?
Posted 10-27-2009 at 04:03 AM by chrisweick
EXPLAIN THIS!!
ST. MALACHY’S PROPHECY
We can always know for certain that the prophecies made in the Bible about the return of Jesus Christ will definitely come to pass. However, once in awhile I come across a prophecy that is not based on the Bible but yet is interesting and actually fun to study. This vision or prophecy made by a bishop 800 years ago is one that I find intriguing, and there is not much time left to wait and see if his last prediction comes true.
It would seem that the story of his account goes something like this: A bishop by the name of Malachy, who in 1139 received a vision on unfolding the long line of popes in the Holy Roman Catholic Church.
The list of popes started with Pope Celestine II who was alive at the time of St. Malachy. Then in succession, it lists all of the popes who followed him - up to the current one, Pope Benedict XVI. The names of the popes are not given, (except the last one) but instead a description of each one is written down in a Latin word or two. Needless to say, there are many skeptics who claim that the list of popes is a forgery or inaccurate.
Regardless, even if the notion is far fetched, the end of the list is nearly completed. In addition, what is even more intriguing is that there is room for only ONE more picture in the line of papal portraits at the Vatican gallery. Does this indicate that the pope to follow Benedict XVI will be the final one? Many interpret this to mean that the end of the world will occur during the reign of this last Pope, and St. Malachy also prophesied it. An interesting note here: During the reign of Pope John Paul II, the Vatican voted to change the rules concerning the required age of the Pope. The new rule stated that cardinals who were considered papal-elect had to be over the age of 70, but under 80 years old. The thinking behind this was for more cardinals to have the chance at being Pope, but it mainly was to limit the length of reign. Once the Pope is elected, he holds this place of honor until his death. Pope John Paul II was in the Vatican for over 25 years, and maybe some thought that was too long. With the new rule in place, Joseph Ratzinger was already 78 years old when he became Pope in 2005 - the next one is coming soon!
I listed below only the last five pontiffs and what St. Malachy wrote about them, both in the original Latin and the translation. The complete list can be found online with dozens of sites to choose from.
Pope John XXIII (1958-1963) - Pastor et Nauta (pastor and marine)
History: Prior to his election he was patriarch of Venice, a marine city.
Pope Paul VI (1963-1978) - Flos florum (flower of flowers)
History: His coat of arms showed a picture of three lilies.
Pope John Paul I (1978) - De medietate Lunae (of half the moon)
History: He was born in the diocese of Belluno, (beautiful moon). Elected
on August 26 and reigned only one month, from half a moon to the next half.
Pope John Paul II (1978-2005) - De labore Solis (of the eclipse of the sun, or from the labor of the sun)
History: Karol Wojtyla was born on May 18, 1920 during a solar eclipse
and his funeral occurred on April 8, 2005 when a solar eclipse was
visible in the Americas.
Pope Benedict XVI (2005-) - Gloria olivae (Glory of the Olives)
History: Joseph Ratzinger was a member of the Benedictine order called
the Olivetans.
The Next Pope (in the future) - In persecutione extrema S.R.E. sedebi Petrus Romanus, qui pascet oves in
multis tribulation bus: quibus transactis civitas septicollis diruetur, &
Judex tremedus judecabit populum suum. Finis.
This Latin phrase used for the final Pope is the only one that has more than three words. In fact, this Pope has a description that is so exact - it names the Pope outright. Here is the translation:
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 his people.
The End.
Will the next Pope choose his name to be Pope Peter or a name like it? St. Malachy predicts the new Pontiff will come from Italy or Rome. In John chapter 21, Jesus instructs PETER to feed the sheep, and in Matthew 16:18, Jesus tells PETER that he is the rock that the Church will be built upon. We also know that the city built on seven hills is in fact, Rome. Will the Vatican be destroyed? I believe this to be true, based on the clues given in Revelation.
ST. MALACHY’S PROPHECY
We can always know for certain that the prophecies made in the Bible about the return of Jesus Christ will definitely come to pass. However, once in awhile I come across a prophecy that is not based on the Bible but yet is interesting and actually fun to study. This vision or prophecy made by a bishop 800 years ago is one that I find intriguing, and there is not much time left to wait and see if his last prediction comes true.
It would seem that the story of his account goes something like this: A bishop by the name of Malachy, who in 1139 received a vision on unfolding the long line of popes in the Holy Roman Catholic Church.
The list of popes started with Pope Celestine II who was alive at the time of St. Malachy. Then in succession, it lists all of the popes who followed him - up to the current one, Pope Benedict XVI. The names of the popes are not given, (except the last one) but instead a description of each one is written down in a Latin word or two. Needless to say, there are many skeptics who claim that the list of popes is a forgery or inaccurate.
Regardless, even if the notion is far fetched, the end of the list is nearly completed. In addition, what is even more intriguing is that there is room for only ONE more picture in the line of papal portraits at the Vatican gallery. Does this indicate that the pope to follow Benedict XVI will be the final one? Many interpret this to mean that the end of the world will occur during the reign of this last Pope, and St. Malachy also prophesied it. An interesting note here: During the reign of Pope John Paul II, the Vatican voted to change the rules concerning the required age of the Pope. The new rule stated that cardinals who were considered papal-elect had to be over the age of 70, but under 80 years old. The thinking behind this was for more cardinals to have the chance at being Pope, but it mainly was to limit the length of reign. Once the Pope is elected, he holds this place of honor until his death. Pope John Paul II was in the Vatican for over 25 years, and maybe some thought that was too long. With the new rule in place, Joseph Ratzinger was already 78 years old when he became Pope in 2005 - the next one is coming soon!
I listed below only the last five pontiffs and what St. Malachy wrote about them, both in the original Latin and the translation. The complete list can be found online with dozens of sites to choose from.
Pope John XXIII (1958-1963) - Pastor et Nauta (pastor and marine)
History: Prior to his election he was patriarch of Venice, a marine city.
Pope Paul VI (1963-1978) - Flos florum (flower of flowers)
History: His coat of arms showed a picture of three lilies.
Pope John Paul I (1978) - De medietate Lunae (of half the moon)
History: He was born in the diocese of Belluno, (beautiful moon). Elected
on August 26 and reigned only one month, from half a moon to the next half.
Pope John Paul II (1978-2005) - De labore Solis (of the eclipse of the sun, or from the labor of the sun)
History: Karol Wojtyla was born on May 18, 1920 during a solar eclipse
and his funeral occurred on April 8, 2005 when a solar eclipse was
visible in the Americas.
Pope Benedict XVI (2005-) - Gloria olivae (Glory of the Olives)
History: Joseph Ratzinger was a member of the Benedictine order called
the Olivetans.
The Next Pope (in the future) - In persecutione extrema S.R.E. sedebi Petrus Romanus, qui pascet oves in
multis tribulation bus: quibus transactis civitas septicollis diruetur, &
Judex tremedus judecabit populum suum. Finis.
This Latin phrase used for the final Pope is the only one that has more than three words. In fact, this Pope has a description that is so exact - it names the Pope outright. Here is the translation:
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 his people.
The End.
Will the next Pope choose his name to be Pope Peter or a name like it? St. Malachy predicts the new Pontiff will come from Italy or Rome. In John chapter 21, Jesus instructs PETER to feed the sheep, and in Matthew 16:18, Jesus tells PETER that he is the rock that the Church will be built upon. We also know that the city built on seven hills is in fact, Rome. Will the Vatican be destroyed? I believe this to be true, based on the clues given in Revelation.
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