The Prophecy of the Popes

Well the immediate event that has caused shock waves in the world of End Times prophecy is the retirement of Pope Benedict. Coming like a shot out of the blue, the Pope announced his retirement only a few weeks ago, and today is his last day as pope. Besides being a historical event (he's the first pope to retire in over 600 years) it is also a prophetic event, at least concerning St. Malachy's Prophecy of the Popes. If you don't know, St. Malachy was an Irish priest who supposedly fell into a trance while visiting Rome in 1139 A.D. and rattled off 112 short phrases, each one corresponding to a future pope.

While you may believe in this story or not, the fact is that St. Malachy's supposed prophecies have only increased in accuracy as time has gone one. A simple web search will lead to them all; I won't bother writing them all here. The main point is that the pope after the current pope, Benedict, is the last on the list. The message concerning him reads:

"In the final persecution of the Holy Roman Church there will reign Petrus Romanus, 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. The End."

Petrus Romanus, or Peter the Roman in English, is the pope that should follow Pope Benedict. Interestingly, there are quite a few Cardinals that are either named Peter or are Italian amongst the frontrunners to become the next pope...which is more than a little creepy. Peter Turkson of Ghana is actually the favorite at the moment. So it seems that St. Malachy may be right on about the next pope. The Final Pope. Before the seven-hilled city (Rome) is destroyed and the dreadful Judge (God) arrives.

Not surprisingly the End Times community is abuzz about what this means for the possibilities of the future. There are quite a few people who believe that the next pope will be the False Prophet of the Book of Revelation who will assist the Anti-Christ in the takeover of the world.

And while a future "pope" may indeed fit that bill, I myself do not believe Peter the Roman will be it. The reason for this is twofold. One, I figure St. Malachy would have made him sound at least a little more evil than he did if his vision showed the Pope/False Prophet. His version of Peter the Roman makes him seem pretty decent. That doesn't necessarily mean he won't be, of course. But to me it's a small clue. The big clue, however, is the prophecy of Pope Pius the Tenth.

Pius X actually had two reported visions of his own. The first occurred in 1909, when during an audience for the general chapter of the Franciscan order Pope Pius appeared to enter into a trance. Those present remained silent and after a few minutes, Pius opened his eyes wide, rose from his seat, and exclaimed, "What I have seen is terrifying! Will I be the one, or will it be a successor? What is certain is that the Pope will leave Rome and, in leaving the Vatican, he will have to pass over the dead bodies of his priests!"

Pope Pius X had another vision shortly before his death of which he said, "I have seen one of my successors, of the same name, who was fleeing over the bodies of his brethren. He will take refuge in some hiding place; but after a brief respite, he will die a cruel death. Respect for God has disappeared from human hearts. They wish to efface even God's memory. This perversity is nothing less than the beginning of the last days of the world."

While these visions may mean nothing on their own, they are confirmed, or at least mirrored by other Catholic prophecies. Most notably those of John of the Cleft Rock (an enigmatic 14th Century mystic who no one really knows much about) who says: "At that time, the Pope with his cardinals will have to flee Rome in tragic circumstances to a place where they will be unknown. The Pope will die a cruel death in exile."

And a 13th Century mystic John of Vitiguerro who said: "The pope will change his residence and the Church will not be defended for twenty-five months or more because, during all that time there will be no Pope in Rome. After many tribulations, a Pope shall be elected out of those who survived the persecutions."

While it is possible that Pope Pius X used the knowledge of these previous prophecies to invent his own, the name of the next pope may make things a bit more clear. Since the events spoken of in those prophecies have yet to take place, and if the next pope is indeed the last as prophesied by St. Malachy, then it stands to reason that the next pope will be named Pius, as Pius X predicted. While not necessarily proof of anything, if the new pope takes the name Pius, I will see that as way too big of a coincidence to ignore. We won't have long to wait to find out.