Paging 'Peter the Roman': Debunking the Prophecy of St. Malachy

By Gerald Korson
3/10/2013
Catholic Online (www.catholic.org)

These prophecies are about as reliable as the Mayan Calendar

We can rest assured that the cardinal-electors won't be giving these so-called "prophecies" as much as a fleeting thought in their deliberations. This forgery didn't sway the conclave in 1595, and it won't be a factor in 2013, either. I'd even be willing to wager on that - if it were not an excommunicable offense.

Malachy was an Irish bishop of the 12th century who allegedly received a revelation and subsequently wrote a series of brief cryptic phrases describing the 112 popes who would succeed the then-current pontiff, Innocent II.

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HUNTINGTON, IN (Catholic Online) - With all the intrigue over the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI and the upcoming conclave, there has been a renewed public interest in the so-called Prophecy of St. Malachy.

Surely you've heard of it before. Malachy was an Irish bishop of the 12th century who allegedly received a revelation and subsequently wrote a series of brief cryptic phrases describing the 112 popes who would succeed the then-current pontiff, Innocent II. As luck would have it, the pontiff who is elected in this month's conclave would be the last in the series at No. 112.

But it's really nothing to get worked up about, as credibility is a serious issue here. These prophecies are about as reliable as the Mayan Calendar.

When the Prophecy of St. Malachy was first published by a Benedictine monk in 1595, St. Malachy had been dead already for 447 years. There is no record of anyone ever as much as mentioning the prophecy before that time. Furthermore, the monk, who incorporated the alleged prophecy in his book about the history of the Benedictine order, included notations indicating the names of the 74 "popes" who supposedly fulfilled the first 74 prophecies. That list in itself is erroneous; in several instances, it leaves out legitimate popes in favor of antipopes, those false claimants to the papacy who surfaced at various troubled moments in the history of the Church.

The mysterious phrases of the supposed prophecy - including specimens like "Sign of Ostia," "snaky man," and "the fruit of Jupiter will help" - seem far more explicit and accurate when applied to those 74 popes (and antipopes) who reigned between Innocent II's immediate successor, Celestine II, and the year 1590. After that, the majority of these papal descriptions make little or no sense in relation to the corresponding heirs to the Chair of St. Peter. Usually the attempt is made to connect the prophecy to the pontiff's name, family, place of origin, or symbols on his coat of arms, but it usually takes quite an imagination to make that leap.

The relative accuracy of the papal descriptions leading up to 1590 and the complete lack of historical evidence that the Prophecy of St. Malachy even existed before that time leads most historians to consider it a forgery. The theory goes that the prophecy was conveniently compiled in 1590 in order to influence the papal conclave of that year in favor of Cardinal Girolamo Simoncelli, who as bishop of Orvieto (from a Latin word meaning "old city") would have been a perfect match for the prophecy of Pope No. 75, Ex antiquitate Urbis ("from the old city").

If that was the ruse the forgers had in mind, it didn't work, as the cardinal-electors went for a reluctant candidate named Niccol� Sfondrati, who became Pope Gregory XIV in December 1590 after a two-month conclave. (Interestingly, although he reigned less than a year, one if his first official acts was to forbid, under pain of excommunication, all wagering on papal elections and the duration of pontificates.) Still, St. Malachy fans today rationalize Gregory as a fulfillment of the prophecy, noting that Sfondrati's father was born in Milan, and Milan is an "old city" in its own right. So there.

Consideration of our popes of recent memory illustrates the difficulty even true believers face in making these prophecies stick. "Shepherd and sailor" is said to apply to Pope John XXIII because he hailed from Venice, a port city. "Flower of flowers" is claimed to fit Pope Paul VI because of the fleur-de-lis on his coat of arms. Pope John Paul I, "of the half moon," is said to have been elected on a night when there was a half-moon in the sky. "From the labor of the sun" is a stretch for Pope John Paul II, who came from the East (Poland), from which the sun rises. Pope Benedict XVI is "the glory of the Olive"; the Benedictine order (of which Pope Benedict was never a member) was once known as the Olivetans.

Which brings us to Pope No. 112, "Peter the Roman." Here, St. Malachy and/or the forgers give us a full-blown prophecy:

In the final persecution of the Holy Roman Church, there will sit Peter the Roman, who will pasture his sheep in many tribulations, and when these things are finished, the city of seven hills will be destroyed, and the dreadful judge will judge his people. The End.

Now if only it were that simple. A cursory scan of the list of papal electors reveal several cardinals whose names include Peter, Pierre, or Pedro, all of whom would qualify as "Roman" by the simple fact they are prelates of the Church of Rome. (And if the cardinals were to buy into the Prophecy of St. Malachy but wish to forestall the destruction of Rome - "the city of seven hills" - and the Final Judgment for as long as possible, they might want to consider selecting the youngest and healthiest Peter among them. I'm just sayin'.)

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Gerald Korson is a career Catholic journalist with more than 30 years' experience as an editor and writer, including nine years as editor of Our Sunday Visitor national newsweekly (1998-2007). In addition to OSV, he has been published in numerous Catholic print and online journals including The Catholic Answer, Lay Witness, This Rock, Columbia, The Catholic Voice, Catholic San Francisco, The Montana Catholic, Extension, Catholic Almanac, Mercatornet, Catholic Pulse, and Catholic Online. He and his wife, the parents of 11 children, make their home in Indiana.

- - -

Pope Benedict XVI's Prayer Intentions for January 2013
General Intention: The Faith of Christians. That in this Year of Faith Christians may deepen their knowledge of the mystery of Christ and witness joyfully to the gift of faith in him.
Missionary Intention: Middle Eastern Christians. That the Christian communities of the Middle East, often discriminated against, may receive from the Holy Spirit the strength of fidelity and perseverance.

Keywords: Gerald Korson, conclave, papal conclave, Peter the Roman, prophecy of St. Malachy

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1 - 10 of 48 Comments

Ken
1 month ago
Got news for you.

"Peter the Roman" does fit Pope Frances. Historical records bear out that the original saint Frances passed on the torch of leading his Franciscan Order to a best friend named...Peter Catanio. In other words, the first historical successor to Frances was Peter and also this pope is the first successor of Frances through the regnal use of his name.

I don't believe that Malachy was a prophet of God but a psychic of Satan much like Nostradamus and the devil manipulated history to bring about many fulfillments of Malachy's list of popes.
k phil
1 month ago
ANOTHER HISTORICAL FIGURE NAMED FRANCIS 1

Francis of Assisi name is Giovanni Pietro which is Italian for Peter; Francis 1 is also the name of another historical figure who was Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire and he was called King of the Romans. So there is your Petrus Romanus; Pietro King of the Romans AKA Peter the Roman. Frances 1 was a great name choice after all. the Catholic Church seems to forget that no man knows the day nor the hour Matthew 25, while they try to fulfill his prophecy. what's up with the Catholic Church? Which Francis 1 was he really named after.

I hope by their obvious attempt to fill prophecy that they can pull it off, The devil locked away for a 1000 years and a 1000 years of piece on earth sounds good to me, I already know whose side I'm own.....Team Jesus...Let's roll.
rod
1 month ago
ok so you’re an expert on the Mayan Calendar, so the Mayan didn’t accurately map out the Precession of the Equinoxes my friend don’t be so quick to disregard something you know nothing about, people are so quick to disregard something before they have the full picture maybe the Irish bishop Prophecy is a load of rubbish who knows ? I can never compare it to the Mayan calendar

Rod
Cephas
2 months ago
To Mike and all those well meaning souls who have contributed to this page, might I suggest that you take time to read "The Life of the Blessed Virgin"by Anne Catherine Emmerich, more especially the chapter dealing with her death and funeral and note those that attended. We have spent time on Malachi and some probably reading Nostradamus in the hope that somewhere there they might find the answer to the Church established by Christ and headed by, at his appointment, Peter the Rock. Gospel authors M,M,L, & J. wrote from their association with Christ and value must be attached to this association. But there is another writer one who can be seen in the writings too have been in conflict with Peter especially. It is with this in mind that I make the suggestion one reads the writings of Anne.
I have visited both the tomb of St. John and Marys house at Izmir, as have many others including three Popes. It is an amazing experience to stand where John took Mary for safety and become aware that this seer had never been to Izmir, but two priests, from her writings, chose to explore the possibility of the houses existence and in doing so were rewarded by their find.
Here truly is Holy Ground and is revered by both Christians and Muslims.
In closing I will leave you with the question why was one in particular absent from the funeral of Mary? You can form your own opinion but there could well be an answer to Christs address to Peter... " I say to you, when you were young, you used to dress yourself and walk wherever you wanted, but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you and carry you where you do not want to go.” Some suggest that this was the forecast of Peters death? Or the death of the Church??? To Rome... Peter was a Jew, only one other that I know of was both a Jew and a Roman, so who would be the logical one to set their sight on Rome????????
Barry
2 months ago
Gerald, are you in fact a Christian journalist? (1) The Mayans predicted the beginning of a new era, nothing more, and the date of 21 December 2012 is a modern day guess. Yet, if Francis is the Roman, they were right.(2) Two lightning strikes on St. Peters Basilica the day Benedict announced he was stepping down, was tremendous, especially given that Catholics believe (right or wrong) that St. Peter was buried in the original Basilica, exactly where Assisi lived in Rome. (3) Francis taking Assisi's name was tremendous. Read Assisi's prophesy about the Roman. He talks about the schism that the Roman will cause, and it looks like that is happening already. (4) Finally, the third letter of Fatima was not written on four pages in the form of a manuscript, but as a short one page letter. The Vatican has concealed this secret, which is why they did not reveal the secret in 1960 as they promised they would, but waited until 2000. The third secret is about the last Pope and the fall of the Catholic church.
Brian
2 months ago
Good Day to you all,

I am surprised how easily the focus goes from Christ Jesus to a pope in the blink of an eye. Ladies and gentleman does it really matter! I do agree we should always be watchful but are we going to change HIS plan? I support that if you plan on living 100 years, but work like today is your last, talking to God, praying for His guidance, reading the word, witnessing, and professing His name giving glory to HIM all would be good. Sadly, myself included, we all fail to do this, even the pope. If we knew today at 1700 was it, we all would change our focus wouldn’t we? But we don’t know the time and as it was pointed out, Jesus did not either only the “Father in heaven”. Myself I put my soul at His foot throne, and pray that I fill His purpose for His Glory daily!
Louis gonzales
2 months ago
Wow, God forgive me, but there are some really dumb people on this comment section. Overall, no serious 'real' scholar gives any type of credence to these prophecies. None at all!
Chris Roberts
2 months ago
Just a quick note, it is believed on the Internet that for Pope John Paul II, the clue "From the labor of the sun" refers to the fact that he was born on the same day of a partial solar eclipse - May 18th, 1920. Although I don't think it could be seen where he was born, it happened and that is the belief.
roseo64
2 months ago
can't remember the exact place in the Scriptures or the exact words.............
when Jesus says..."the last shall be first..............and the first last"
can somone help me out with the exact passage.
sounds like st. malachy was "right on" with this pope also!!
JoAnn
2 months ago
Martha: You are right. Jesus told us no one knows the time but the Father. Jesus also told us to watch, be alert and know the signs. God bless.

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