#798

The Last Pope

Failing Health

The current Pope, Pope Francis is experiencing acute medical conditions as we read in a report from Yahoo! News:

The Vatican on Tuesday called the health condition of Pope Francis "guarded" and "complex" as he remained in a stable condition with double pneumonia, according to Vatican officials.

The pope "is no longer using the non-invasive mechanical ventilation," the Vatican's press officer Matteo Bruni reported.

He remains hospitalized and is considered stable:

Francis received the Eucharist in the morning and spent the day alternating between rest and prayer, the Vatican added.

His overall clinical condition "remains stable," including his heart, kidney and blood values, according to a Vatican official. However, the prognosis remains "guarded" and the overall situation is "complex."

While stable, he had a rough Monday night:

The 88-year-old pontiff suffered two episodes of acute "acute respiratory failure" Monday night due to mucus buildup and was back on a ventilator as he remained hospitalized with double pneumonia symptoms.

None of these incidents are minor although he rested through the night:

In the morning, officials said Francis "slept through the night" on his 19th evening "and now continues to rest" at Gemelli Hospital in Rome, where he was taken off a ventilator mask.

Francis has lead the Catholic Church since 2013.

Ordinarily I wouldn’t report on the Pope, but there are those who see the Catholic leaders in prophecies, both in and outside the Bible.

And About The Last Pope

This one is hardly new since it has been around since 1595, but what makes it significant is that there are many who believe that the current Pope is the last one before the Antichrist comes on the scene. So how did this all get started? I am happy to tell you. You see there was the first Irish saint, Saint Malachy, a 12th‑century Archbishop of Armagh who had a vision of all future popes which he wrote in 1139 A.D. Here is how an article from the web site gotquestions.org explains it:

His list started with his contemporary, Pope Celestine III and continued through the next 112 Popes ... According to Catholic tradition, Malachy’s prophecy remained hidden until AD 1590, when it was first published. It has been a source of conjecture and controversy ever since. The prophecy has recently come into focus again because of the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI. According to Malachy’s reckoning, Pope Francis I will be the last.

In the prophecy the Final Pope according to Malachy would be known as “Peter the Roman, who will pasture his sheep in many tribulations, and when these things are finished, the city of seven hills [i.e., Rome] will be destroyed, and the dreadful judge will judge his people.”

And About That List

We could spend more time on the earlier list, but for brevity, here are the last 5 popes from the list and their coat of arm’s name:

Flos Florum (“Flower of Flowers”) – Pope Paul VI

De medietate Lunae (“Of the Half Moon”) – Pope Juan Pablo I

De Labore Solis (“From the Toil of the Sun”) – Pope John Paul II

Gloria Olivae (“The Glory of the Olive”) – Pope Benedict XVI

Petrus Romanus (“Peter the Roman”) – Pope Francis I

The prophecies purportedly were written before 1595, but critics note that the list is amazingly accurate up until 1595 and not so accurate later making some believe that the list was made then using the list already known. After reading the list, I would have to say that the list is kind of hit and miss after 1595. But it could be accurate if you allow for a stretch here and there. For instance, Pope Paul VI’s coat of arms contained a fleur-de-lys, thereby associating him with flowers. But there are more misses than hits on the list and we can hardly trust these dubious listings of popes to make the current one the last one.

Is The Current Pope The Last One?

Pope Francis of Assisi, the current pope would be the 112th but he is not from Italy. If you want to take a broader approach, the papacy is not in the Bible at all, but for the sake of argument, how do we take the leap to this pope as fulfilling the Saint Malachy prophecy? According to author Thomas Horn, who penned the book Petrus Romanus: The Final Pope Is Here there was, as he called some “hanky panky” went on with the installment him as we see in an interview with Horn:

“I believe Pope Francis was not canonically elected. I believe some hanky-panky went on in the conclave. In fact, I think that has something to do with why he picked St. Francis of Assisi as his namesake. His real name is Bergoglio, as you know, because Francis of Assisi prophesied about the final Pope and he said he will not be canonically elected. Now that means that he’s a placeholder for reasons that we can’t quite figure out, but I believe he’s either going to be removed from office or he’s going to step down like Benedict did, soon. And the guy that comes up to take his place is actually going to be the real Pope 112 by election, Petrus Romanus.

The people that actually… some of the Cardinals that voted for Pope Francis now want him to step down. They’ve published this. It’s in the news. They want him to step down and they want him to be replaced by the Secretary of State at the Vatican whose name literally means Petrus Romanus, Peter the Roman.”

The man Horn is referring to is Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s Secretary of State. His first name, Pietro, is the Italian form of Peter, and he’s from Italy—making him, almost literally, Peter the Roman.

There Is More

In another article we see more of the theory explained:

Adding to the mystery, Pope Francis revealed in 2013 that he had already signed a resignation letter in case of serious health issues. That letter was given to then-Secretary of State Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone—who likely passed it to none other than… Cardinal Pietro Parolin. If Francis steps down, could Parolin fulfill the role of Peter the Roman?

Going back to the gotquestions.org article we read how some connect the so called last pope to end time prophecy:

The prophecy of Malachy concerning the final Pope is as follows: “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.” According to Malachy, the final Pope will take the title “Pope Peter the Roman” or a derivative thereof. According to Catholic teaching, the apostle Peter was the first Pope, and, according to Malachy, another Peter will be the final one.

The mention of “persecution” and the destruction of Rome in Malachy’s prophecy have led some to believe that the final Pope will be the Antichrist or the False Prophet of Revelation 19:20. There are others who find a prediction of a “black Pope” in Malachy’s writings.

To others the false religion will be based out of Rome, but not necessarily Catholicism. And some also see the Antichrist ruling out of Rome until he relocates to Jerusalem half way through the Tribulation.

Interesting Theories

I am always open to entertain views of the end times not found in the Bible. However, I always default to what the Scriptures say and not try to manipulate the Word to fit those theories. This talk of a last pope intrigues me but I’ve looked and this isn’t anywhere in Bible prophecy that I can see. Apart from the allusions to the False Prophet and perhaps Rome, the logic is fully extra-biblical. I like how the last Charisma article sums things up for us:

Let’s be clear: The prophecy of St. Malachy is not Scripture. While some argue that past popes have eerily matched Malachy’s descriptions, the Bible remains the only fully reliable source on the end times. Jesus Himself warned in Matthew 24 that the last days would be marked by wars, deception and false prophets.

Sound familiar?

The author then reminds us that news about any Pope is noteworthy all by itself:

With global conflicts, economic instability and increasing calls for a centralized global authority, it’s easy to see why people are watching closely.

Regardless of whether the next pope fits St. Malachy’s vision, a papal transition is always a global event. The Vatican holds immense influence, and a new pope could shift the balance of power in ways that align with biblical prophecy. We already see moves toward a cashless society, international governance and a one-world religion—elements that could play into the system of the Beast in Revelation.

He reminds us that we need to keep our eyes on Jesus:

But here’s the bottom line: our hope is not in a prophecy—it’s in Christ. The Bible tells us exactly how this story ends. Revelation 22:12 reminds us: “Look, I am coming soon! My reward is with Me to give to each one according to his work,” (MEV).

Jesus is our certainty in uncertain times. Whether or not St. Malachy’s prophecy plays out, our mission remains the same—stay vigilant, stay in the Word and keep our eyes on Jesus.

That’s good advice. I would only add two more things, the first of which is we can and should use information like this to witness to people who like theories like this, but we need to always use it to get them into the real end time scriptures. Secondly, I’d personally rather base my views of the end times on the Bible by reading Daniel, Revelation, Ezekiel just to name a few.