Pope Francis’ untimely death at the age of 88 has sent shockwaves throughout the Catholic world and beyond, but it has also shed new light on a mystery text cloaked in centuries of secret and speculation—the Prophecy of the Popes. This little-known but highly intriguing text, credited to the 12th-century Irish archbishop Saint Malachy, has captured the imaginations of both believers and sceptics. As the Church enters a moment of mourning and reflection, increased focus is being paid to this prophetic text—and its terrible warning that the next pope may be the last.
The Prophecy of the Popes, which is supposed to have been concealed for centuries in the Vatican’s secret archives, contains 112 brief Latin sentences. Followers think that each sentence describes a future pope, starting with Celestine II in 1143. These enigmatic descriptions frequently refer to symbols, locations, or behavioural attributes associated with the pontiffs they claim to foresee. While some experts regard the text as a 16th-century fake, others are intrigued by how closely some of the words appear to correspond to the lives and papacies of actual historical popes.
What makes this prophecy particularly unsettling now is the final line, which refers to a pope only known as “Peter the Roman.” The manuscript says this about him:
“In persecutione extrema S.R.E. sedebit Petrus Romanus, qui pascet oves in multis tribulationibus…”
When translated, it means: “In the final persecution of the Holy Roman Church, there will reign Peter the Roman, who will feed his flock amid many tribulations…” It finishes with a foreboding reference to Rome’s demise and the Last Judgement.
According to the prophecy, Peter the Roman is the 112th and final pope, which makes Pope Francis the 111th. According to that timeframe, his successor’s entrance may coincide with the anticipated cataclysmic events, such as Christ’s return and Judgement Day.
Francis, who had been quietly fighting severe respiratory troubles for months, died on Monday of a suspected cerebral hemorrhage—a sudden, deadly stroke caused by bleeding in the brain. While his death has devastated millions of followers, it has also sparked new debate about whether his death represents the beginning of the end, as predicted in the prophesy.
In a situation that has fuelled speculation, the College of Cardinals is now considering nine top contenders for succession, three of whom are called Peter. For those who believe the prophecy, this coincidence is far from chance. Could Peter the Roman actually be among them?
The Catholic Church is scheduled to begin the traditional novemdiales, or nine-day period of mourning, before the College of Cardinals meets in a papal conclave to pick the next pope. As this hallowed and clandestine procedure takes place behind closed doors, eyes throughout the world will look for evidence of the ancient prophecy being fulfilled.
Many Christian organisations, both Catholic and Protestant, have long assumed that 2027 carries particular significance. Some read biblical chronology and other prophetic works to infer that this is the year of Christ’s Second Coming—the time when, according to scripture, Jesus returns to judge the living and the dead. The coincidence of this widely disseminated date with the end of the Popes’ Prophecy has sparked both fear and optimism.
However, the Vatican has never formally recognised the Prophecy of the Popes as genuine teaching, and many theologians advise against accepting such prophecies literally. They emphasise that, while apocalyptic thinking has always been a part of Christian tradition, the heart of the faith is hope rather than fear.
However, in this time of transition, when mystery and mortality loom large over the world’s 1.3 billion Catholics, it is difficult not to be drawn into the strange intersections of prophesy, politics, and faith. Whether the next pope will be Peter the Roman, or whether the end is genuinely imminent, remains to be seen. But one thing is certain: the eyes of the faithful, as well as the rest of the world, are once again focused on the Vatican.
