PURPOSE

The purpose of this brief document is to attempt to bring to an end the seemingly unending speculation about the alleged prophecies of St. Malachy regarding the Bishops of Rome. This unproductive intellectual "sport" has become as widespread as the issuance of new interpretations of Nostradamus' writings.


INTRODUCTION

We could not think of a better individual to get to the root of the history behind St. Malachy's alleged prophecies (and their evolution through time) than Mr. Lee Penn. His ability to ferret the hidden truths out of books and Internet sites, and his ability to separate fact from legend, makes his assistance invaluable.

In the following paragraphs you will read the condensed, but comprehensive and amply annotated, result of his research into St. Malachy's alleged prophecies. Mr. Penn's text will be followed by an "IN CONCLUSION" section, in which miguel de Portugal will make a final evaluation of these so-called prophecies.




St. Malachy (1094-1148) was the Archbishop of Armagh and the Papal legate to Ireland (1). He was a close friend of Bernard of Clairvaux (who was – in addition – a proponent of the Crusades and of the Knights Templar (2) ). Malachy fell ill while traveling to Rome in 1148, and died that year in Bernard's arms, at the abbey of Clairvaux.

St. Malachy had gone to Rome in 1139 to report to Pope Innocent II on the condition of his diocese (3). According to the account of the Abbé Cucherat, Malachy then received a vision of the future: a listing of the future Popes, starting with Celestine II (the successor of Innocent II), and continuing until the Day of Judgment. Malachy supposedly gave this list to Innocent II, and it was put away into the Vatican's archives. The prophecy was supposedly rediscovered in 1590, and was first published in 1595 – although the original manuscript from Malachy no longer exists.

St. Malachy's prophecy is a list of 112 future Popes (or claimants to the Papacy), with a Latin phrase describing each of them (4). That phrase may pertain to their ancestry, their country of origin, their coat of arms, their lives and work before or during their reign, or the circumstances of their death. This list accounts for all the popes officially recognized by the Vatican since 1143, as well as all but two of those officially listed as antipopes (5). (The two missing antipopes are Innocent III, who "reigned" from late September 1179 to January 1180 (6), and Benedict XIV, who was "elected" in November 1425; almost nothing is known about his reign or his death (7) ).

In the Malachy prophecy, [at the time these lines are being written, the year 2011] the current occupant of the Holy See corresponds to the next-to-last person listed – "Gloria olivae," or "the glory of the olive."

The next person listed is the final pope, "Peter the Roman." In English, this is the description given to him: "In the final persecution of the Holy Roman Church there will reign 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. The End." (8)

There are claims made that the "Peter the Roman" entry, with its reference to the Last Judgment, did not appear in the prophecy text until it was added sometime after 1820 (9). However, the first publication of this prophecy in 1595 does contain the full, apocalyptic "Peter the Roman" reference (10).

Others claim that there may be any number of popes between "Gloria olivae" and "Petrus Romanus." However, taken as a whole, the list of Popes attributed to Malachy is a sequential list (11), with no omissions so far (other than the two obscure medieval anti-popes listed above, who reigned as "Innocent III" and "Benedict XIV").

Since the first appearance of the prophecies, there has been doubt about their authenticity.

Arguments against the prophecy are (12):


Nevertheless, there is evidence in favor of the prophecies (13). It is a telling fact that the descriptions of the most recent popes in the Malachy prophecy are accurate – or at the least, relevant to the person elected (14). (All the descriptions, pre-1595 and post-1595, are arcane and rather obscure.)

If the prophecy of Malachy is true and inspired, we are very close to the end of the age.


IN CONCLUSION [by The M+G+R Foundation]

If we were to summarize miguel de Portugal's opinion and recommendation regarding this subject matter, it would be as follows: Disregard it! These alleged prophecies serve no purpose whatsoever other, than distract the Faithful from what they should be doing now: Praying. (18)

For those who seek more specific reasons for our evaluation:


The only claim to fame that those alleged prophecies have is that, indeed, there will be 112 historical Popes - give or take one or two - from 1143 AD until the End of These Times (which will include the end of the Papacy as it has been known until now).






En Español:  La Profecía de los Papas atribuida a San Malaquias

Published on November 6, 2011