Papal
prophecy of St. Malachy says there will be just one more pope after
Benedict
11
February, 2013
Pope
Benedict XVI announced Monday morning that he would be stepping down
as the head of the Catholic Church, making him the first Pope to step
down rather than die in the position in more than 600 years. A new
pope will be selected by the end of March. There will undoubtedly be
much speculation about who will take over the reigns of the Catholic
Church, but one thing that we can look to for some guidance about who
might be the the next pope are the infamous papal prophecies of St.
Malachy. St. Malachy, the first Irish saint, had a vision of the next
112 popes. We've had 111 since, and are on the verge of seeing No.
112, which Malachy says will be the final pope before the end of the
world as we know it.
In
1139, Malachy was Archibishop and traveled to Rome from ireland to
give an account of his affairs. While in Rome, Malachy received a
vision about the future which included the name of every pope, 112 in
total, from his time until the end of time. We currently are at the
end of the second to last prophecy, with Benedict XVI at the helm.
St.
Malachy had written about the 112th pope:
"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."
St.
Malachy prophesized that the final pope would be "Peter the
Roman", which is interesting because no pope to date has chosen
the name of Peter out of respect for Peter the Apostle. There has
also been speculation that the final pope would be black. Even more
curiously, there is a black cardinal in Ghana, Peter Turkson, who is
believed to be a frontrunner and whose name has come up in previous
discussions of papal appointment.
Cardinal
Turkson has said in the past that "if God would wish to see a
black man also as pope, thanks be to God." Catholic Church
chronicler Rocco Palmo has called Turkson the lone Scripture scholar
in the Pope's "Senate", and believes that his status as a
potential "papabile" has been elevated due to his 2009
appointment as spokesman for the Second Synod for Africa.
Outside
of the Church, there are also many who believe that Turkson is the
favorite to take over as pontiff. Even the London bookmakers believe
he's the top choice. Odds comparison site Oddschecker.com lists
Turkson at best price odds of 4/1, and as short as 2/1 with some
firms. Francis Arinze, the Nigerian Cardinal, is also a huge favorite
with the bookies.
There
are some who insist that Malachy did not say that the last pope he
mentioned would be the 112th pope, insisting that he was merely the
last, and theorizing that there could be more popes to come between
Benedict and "Peter the Roman". However, this is not a
belief that everyone subscribes to and many believe that "Peter
the Roman" will be both the 112th and last pope of the Catholic
Church.
Malachy's
prophecies are taken very seriously as they've been uncannily
accurate to date. Will the Catholic Church get its first black pope?
Will "Peter the Roman" lead us into the End Times? These
questions are set to be answered by Easter, which comes this year at
the end of March, when the papal conclave announces their decision.
Pope
Benedict XVI announced his decision to step down due to health
concerns just days ahead of the start of the Lenten season. He is due
to step down officially on February 28. The announcement surprised
even his inner circle, who were said to be unaware that he was
planning to step down.
The
College of Cardinals is charged with electing the new pope, who
according to Pope John Paul II's apostolic constitution, must be
cardinals under the age of 80. Pope Benedict XVI established current
procedures, which were amended by a motu proprio dated June 11, 2007.
A two-third majority vote is required to elect the new pope
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