The Prophesy of the Popes has been a favorite subject on programs like Ground Zero with Clyde Lewis and Coast to Coast AM.  Now that Pope Benedict XVI has announced he'll be stepping down at the end of February, it's a great time to review what has been foretold about the heads of the Roman Catholic church.

How Will the Next Pope be Selected?

All of the cardinals in the Catholic Church will gather at the Vatican and meet in secret.  The meeting, called the Conclave, will consist of a series of votes.  When two-thirds of the cardinals are in agreement on a candidate, that person will be the new Bishop of Rome, or Pope.

Peter the Roman - the Last Pope

Saint Malachy in the 1100s wrote short lines about 112 popes.  Benedict XVI was the next to the last pope on the list.  He is identified with the nickname 'glory of the olive.'  Benedict's crest includes an olive branch.

Malachy writes next about Peter the Roman, the prophesied final pope.  The mention is short but frightening.

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. The end.

Does this describe the literal destruction of Rome (the Seven Hills) and of the Church establishment?

The Black Pope

Clyde Lewis, who hosts Ground Zero which airs at midnight weeknights on WIBX, wrote an interesting article in 2012 entitled 'The Black Pope,' which dives deep into the final pope prophesy.  One of the year-end predictions shared on Ground Zero would be a change in popes in 2013:

The worry has also been focused on the Pontiff, who had said that he was getting old and wanting to retire, an now it seems that there is more to the story and a fulfillment of prophecy may bring the church ever closer to its end as a new Pope that has been predicted to be the “Black Pope” or “Petrus Romanus” will take the reigns of power and bring the church to ruin.

Malachy O’Morgair was born in 1094 at Armagh, Ireland. He died November 2, 1148 at Clairvaux, He was later made a saint in 1190 by Pope Clement III; it was the first papal canonization of an Irish saint.

It was told that St. Malachy was able to perform miracles.

One of Malachy’s great claims to popular fame was his gift of prophecy. While in Rome in 1139, he received a vision showing him all the Popes from his day to the end of time. He wrote poetic descriptions of each of the pontiffs, and presented the manuscript to Pope Innocent II. The manuscript was long forgotten until 1590.

It is now in print and highly controversial. Both its authenticity and correctness have been debated. According to his prophecies, there are to be only two more Popes after John Paul II.

The Popes, in what are called the Prophesies of St. Malachy, are given titles, such as “De Medietate Lunae” or the half moon (John Paul I), “De Labore Solis” or the Solar eclipse (John Paul II) “Gloria Olivae” or the glory of the Olive (a Benedictine Pope who serves during a seven year tribulation period), and Petrus Romanus or Peter the Roman who betrays his flock and becomes a false prophet.

Will the prophesies of Malachy be a part of the Conclave?  One wonders how cognizant the new pope, once selected, will be of the prophesy.

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