St. Malachy's Prophecy

"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."

These are supposedly the words of St. Malachy (1094-1148) who was reputedly the author of what is now known as "The Prophecy of the Popes." In it, he gives a list of descriptions of each Pope beginning with Celestine II up to the last one before what has been interpreted ad Judgment Day. According to Malachy, the last pope would be Petrus Romanus (Peter of Rome) and is preceded by the Pope described as Gloria olivae (Glory of the olive). This second-to-the-last Pope is thought to be Benedictine, since a branch of the Benedictine order is the Olivetans. The current Pope is Benedict XVI, who have said that he adopted the name "Benedict" in honor of Benedict XV.

Curiously, St. Benedict once predicted that before the end of the world, a member of his order would become Pope and lead the Church against evil. Is Pope Benedict XVI, the pope before Peter of Rome? Who is this Peter of Rome? Could he be the original desciple of Jesus who will return to rule the Church once more in the end of days? The photo is from http://wilsonsalmanac.com/book/nov3.html.

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