So Pope Benedict has decided to hang up his Pope-hat and take up golfing (or whatever it is retired Popes do to fill their days). This obviously means that another Pope will soon be selected to take his place. Where DOOOOM comes in: according to the “Prophesy of the Popes,” this next Pope will be the last Pope.
The Prophesy was first published in 1595, claimed as the work of Saint Malachy in the middle of the 12th century describing 112 Popes with short sentences. There is apparently no other record of Malachy having produced such a prophesy, so people who aren’t insane generally consider the prophesy to be a late 16th century hoax. Sadly, there’s lots of crazy in the world…
According to the prophesy, the last Pope is described thusly:
Petrus Romanus, qui paſcet oues in multis tribulationibus: quibus tranſactis ciuitas ſepticollis diruetur, & Iudex tremẽdus iudicabit populum ſuum.
Or: Peter the Roman, who will nourish the sheep in many tribulations; when they are finished, the city of seven hills will be destroyed, and the dreadful judge will judge his people.
Whether Rome gets trashed at the end of the next Pope’s reign, and whether the end times will come, we’ll just have to wait and see. But part of that prophesy I can confidently state WILL come to pass: he’ll be “Peter the Roman.” How do I know this?
1) The Papacy is known also as the Petrine Ministry, after the Apostle Peter. Every Pope is thus, sorta, “Peter.”
2) Dude… the Vatican, it’s in Rome.
Thus: Peter the Roman. Ta-da…
Fun fact: the prophesy, published in 1590, describes Popes from 1140 to “sometime in the future,” and the descriptions for the Popes from 1140 to 1590 are usually pretty clearly accurate… while those for the subsequent Popes need to be stretched and squinted at while hanging upside down in order to see ’em work. Odd, that.
Me, I’m doubtful. I’ve been promised doom many times and been disappointed every time.
