According to legend, St Malachy O Morgair, a 12th‑century bishop of Armagh in Ireland, had the gift of sight and created a list of 112 popes to come. Since it was never mentioned before it appeared in 1590, there are those who say it's a 16th-century forgery; whatever the provenance, it appears that the prophecies could be valid. The list of popes covers over four centuries and we are now down to the penultimate pope described as Gloria Olivae, "the glory of the olive", and, as the olive is a symbol of the Benedictines, it fits Pope Benedict. If the prophecies hold true, the last pope will be Petrus Romanus (Peter of Rome). Whether or not the list was written in the 12th or 16th century, it does eerily fit in with what has happened in the history of the church.
Since I first read about it many years ago I couldn't see how there could only be a few more popes as the Catholic Church seemed to be such a power in the world. However, things have changed; with all the scandals concerning the abuse of children and women by priests still going on, and the cover up by their superiors, who often disregard civil law under orders from the Vatican, which is coming to light in Ireland and elsewhere, I think that, along with the decreasing number of priests, all these factors may bring about an end to the Catholic church as we now know it. It may transform itself and do away with the papacy all together to be ruled by a council of cardinals or something...or the Prophecy of the Popes is wrong and there will be many more popes after the next one but wouldn't it be impressive if St Malachy, or whoever actually wrote it so long ago, was right?
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