The popes and the prophet St. Malachi
A Irish monk in the name of Malachi, who lived in a remote century (1094-1148) at about the middle of the extent of the present era or the History of the Church, drafted a list of the future popes, the ambition of which was to be valid until our time. Either because he was lacking in light or fancy or because he was really seing future events, he said that the last pope would reign soon, in the first years of the present century, the XXIth, probably in 2028 or so.
In order to reach this conclusive date they have taken simply the date of the “middle of the sign” (the motto of a pope living in the middle of the time of the prophecy) and doubled the period spent from the first pope mentioned.
That some people saw in this foreseen event the end of a type of religion or the present humanity is not important or really significant since institutions always evolve in form and base even if they are of divine inspiration and humanity also changes but rather over an extended period of several millions of years.
If one imagines the situation ten thousand years ahead, logically there will be unimaginable changes even in monolithic religions.
This prophecy gives rise to some doubts as to its date : the monk was living in the XIIth century but they have found his writings much later in the XVIth century, which means nevertheless 4 or 5 centuries of pure prediction.
Whatever the truth, they have noticed that his mottos (three or four words maximum) to describe each pope were sometimes strikingly accurate even after this century of undoubted datation (XVIth century). Other mottos are far-fetched.
In ancient times it was very important that the coat of arms of the respective pope should correspond to the motto. Therefore, this was a very personal interpretation, apparently superficial, but the motto often fitted the circumstances of the pope’s life even though sometimes the coat of arms had to be a little tortured.
I met this prophecy as a child since during the war all sorts of writings appeared to reassure people. At that age I was far from thinking that I would live long enough to see substantial accomplishment (?) of the prophecy. Such prophecy which sees facts in advance produces an uneasy feeling when one arrives at the end of the list. It is not always agreeable to note that the ending of an institution is near, especially if it should finish in any apocalyptical events (?), and above all if, as a member of humanity, you feel concerned as a victim of a more or less anounced fate.
The prophecies appeared in the days of anguish of war, as materials for brainwashing.
WHAT KIND OF PROPHECY ?
There are several manners of considering prophecies. If you think they are inspired by God or any superior Power not many questions are raised and simply you deplore that they are not clear enough or more accurate and that they are rarely dated when events are cited.
If we think that it is the work of an individual capable of seeing the future with many details and without too many errors by a method ignored by us which could perhaps be recovered or imagined, we have, despite this assumption, to admit possible technical errors or deficiencies, since the author is human. The sum of the known things being much smaller than what is ignored everything appears to be possible.
For instance, why should the arrow of time always be immutable and could never move in the other direction ? One can imagine a time traveller who returned to a certain point in the past and described what happened during his journey. Why limit all possible events to a binary situation : beginning and end, and no return ? This traveller, whether the obscure but talentful Nostradamus or the relatively clear Malachi, exposes with more or less talent or descriptive technique what happened in a time period he had covered.
With reference to Malachi, we can admit that he saw a procession of papal personages as is the case sometimes on the screen of a TV : they move in front of him at a great distance or not. He sees them well or not and if their reign is short (all of them don’t have a long reign) he can neglect them. At the end of the list (our period) he becomes perhaps short-sighted or long-sighted so that his report lacks in precision. He might effect a few interversions. A divine work cannot be erroneous but human work can be imperfect. If it is historical why should God intervene ? This “prophecy” is pleasant because it is intended to be accurate.
The traveller would perhaps not move but observe from his time with a sort of telescope the series of popes, his sight being more precise, more detailed and better in near period, and less good or more global over a recent remote period as ours, for instance. He flies over the event and notices the striking facts : he might omit undecisive facts or personages or those with a short duration. He can neglect uninteresting links.
All of this to say that we should not obligatorily take all literally, in particular at the end of the list which seems to be more “relaxed”. Truly, this is perhaps a longer time than what appears at first sight when one follows step by step and systematically each motto.
Why this heretic opinion ? Either what he says is true entirely or it is not true at all. Can we take and leave some of the elements ? I think we can, since it is not the qor’an or the gospel. The list is made by a man, which makes it nice and imperfect.
Does the list need to be inspired ? Certainly not, a technique specialized in prophecies is sufficient if it was found or invented and proves to be true. Its defects even permit to have an idea on the manner it was realized.
People of the XIIth century had nothing to envy us as regards the intellectual capacities.
In a remote past the prophecy included as mentioned above rather personal descriptions relative to kings and religion and social situation of the pope.
In the XXth and XXIth centuries we see that the prophet is concerned with the fate of humanity, rather than the fate of the chief of the religion and the religion itself. Is the latter not well established after 20 centuries ?
This is a globalization. The description becomes planetary, which is normal for us because of the instantaneous communication from which we benefit (?) and since we can foresee a smaller significance of the popes due to their supposed disappearance. In order to replace them by what ? A more general ruler relaxing the constraints in view of a “Golden Age” ?
The present pollution which will have to be taken care of entirely one day does not inspire many dreams of Golden Age. Would all this not be a personal aspiration of the prophet, a little added to and out of the context of the prophecy ?
His colleague Nostradamus, much more famous because he was voluntarily obscure, therefore mysterious, can be interpreted in all manners and does not risk making errors since in his “Centuries” one can see the past, the present and the future alike. The only dates (1999) he gives are obviously false since by definition no prophecy can be based on a mathematical date resulting from a system of era or beginning of reign (Akihito, Heisei era, 1989, for example, in Japan) which relies on a convention without any importance, based on the beginning of a reign.
A date based on an eternal beginning accepted by all cannot exist. The date of year 2000 or another has no more significance, effect or precision than that of the Hegira or the reign of Hirohito (Showa, 1925). It is only a marker and if the more cautious Nostradamus spoke of 1999 it is only as a symbol to suggest the end of a millenium or an epoch, or simply to refer to the sun eclipse that they could
apparently (?) foresee at that period, a little less accurately than us, I presume.
Prophecies are a succession or a mixture (patchwork ?) of personages and events, historical chronicles.
Another difficulty for us to understand clearly the prophecies results from the vocabulary of the period : I am not speaking of the language since we still understand it, although he spoke in Latin, but of the geopolitics and geography, without neglecting the techniques which changed so much in one thousand years.
How could he expose clearly to us some events he could not describe normally since we are not in the same world ?
You forget that he is a prophet !
1) OUR PAST EPOCH
Let us come to the XXth and XXIth centuries which interest us much more than the reign of Celestine V, even if he was the only one who resigned from such a good (?) seat.
Authors have studied, conscientiously and step by step, each motto to arrive miraculously at the XIXth century, and at :
PIUS IX (1846 to 1878)
Therefore we come to PIUS IX the longest reign after St Peter (doubtful duration for the latter; did he start at 20 ? This is logical after all, disciples being younger than the master). He dominates the Church from 1846 to 1878 : 31 years.
I would not forgive Malachi if he had not seen him. He gives him the motto : CRUX DE CRUCE, which would mean according to the augurs : “Cross resulting from the cross” referring to the coat of arms of the family de SAVOIE, kings of Italy since a few years and for not very long.
We have to say that in the time of Malachi, in literature they did not speak English but Latin, the super-international language of that time. If the loss of the papal States was significant, the motto is very pertinent. This loss was important in respect of the temporal power even though we do not realize now how great a shock it was for the Church.
The popes then started to enlarge their spiritual field of action over the planet since there are no longer any terrestrial States belonging to the pope. Their sorrows are only religious which is not bad.
The motto itself as applied to the coat of arms of the family de Savoie does entirely satisfy the mind however (too simple, no astuteness !) for such a long papacy.
A coat of arms ? In fact, they will no longer speak of coat of arms. What can we find instead of such obvious explanation ? I admit my lack of imagination. And my little historic basis for interpreting this period more accurately.
LEO XIII (from 1878 to 1903)
LEO XIII is on this seat from 1878 to 1903 for 25 years. His motto is : LUMEN IN COELO and everybody understood at once that this is : “A light in the sky”. It can be found in his coat of arms, we guess, but let us pass to something more interesting, since coats of arms are for the remote past : we do not want any of them now, it is not sufficient for us. What else ?
. Miraculous apparitions of Mary,
. quarrels with the “sons of the light” (freemasons),
. the Brook comet in 1889,
. the serious development of aviation and astronomy,
. the beginnings of Einstein ( a light, whose works have contributed to the origin of the atomic bomb = lumen in coelo, a light (mushroom) in the sky /see Hiroshima/), his relativity of time,
. the industry (smelting furnaces), phenomenal development of electricity, the base of practical life now,
. summarizing : the expansion of sciences.
Aviation, electricity, sciences and relativity correspond more to the new world-wide and globally human style, rather than the purely religious or personal meanings of the mottos.
Starting from this pope, the mottos deal with humanity in itself and its fate, not forcibly the religion only and still less with the pope.
PIUS X (from 1903 to 1914)
This PIUS is in the business for 13 years and his motto is : IGNIS ARDENS : “Burning fire”.
The war of 1914-1918 does not require any comments as to the pertinence of the motto (wars). The pope, a very religious (burning, blazing) man, rather than a governor, disappears at its very beginning.
BENEDICT XV (1914 to 1922)
He is the pope from 1914 to 1922, i.e. 7-8 years. His motto is : RELIGIO DEPOPULATA : “Depopulated religion”, which is of a luminous clarity : communism starts in Russia, it sweeps away the religious orthodoxy of Russia hampering the new theories.
Soon, this is the beginning of the nazi regime, the religion is hit a second time. One can only admire the precision of the description of the reign, even though it could be a matter of luck for the prophet.
2)THE MORE CONTEMPORANEOUS POPES
Until now everything is looking great : if one succeeds in arriving, through the successive mottos (studied elsewhere in skillful detailed volumes, pertinent enough for most of them) as applied over an enormous period of 8 centuries, at BENEDICTUS XV, we have to admit that everything corresponds almost perfectly to the popes of the XIX-XXth centuries.
The same does not apply to the following popes :
PIUS XI (1922 to 1939)
He was a pope for 17 years and also disappeared just before a fine butchery.
He is qualified with two words : FIDES INTREPIDA. Obviously, this is : “Intrepid faith” which can be attributed with facility to him, under the communism and the beginning of the nazis.
The intrepid faith is also communism and nazism !
The other mottos would apply individually to the modern KNOWN popes as follows :
PIUS XII, JOHN XXIII, PAUL VI, JOHN-PAUL Ist, JOHN-PAUL II
These mottos would therefore apply thus :
. PIUS XII, from 1939 to 1958, i.e. 19 years, who receives the motto : PASTOR ANGELICUS (“angelical pastor”),
. JOHN XXIII, from 1958 to 1963, i.e. 5 years, who is qualified as PASTOR ET NAUTA (“pastor and navigator”),
. PAUL VI, from 1963 to 1978, i.e. 15 years, who would be : FLOS FLORUM (“flower of flowers”),
. JOHN-PAUL Ist in 1978, i.e. 31 days, who would have the motto : DE MEDIAETATE LUNAE („The intermediary characteristic of the Moon”),
. and JOHN-PAUL II (from 1978 to more than 2003) with his motto : DE LABORE SOLIS (“Sun’s work”).
These mottos do not adhere to the actual circumstances, I would say : do not at all correspond, especially the motto : PASTOR ANGELICUS for PIUS XII and PASTOR AND NAUTA for JOHN XXIII.
Similarly, the other mottos seem out of connection, especially PAUL VI and JOHN-PAUL Ist.
As to JOHN-PAUL II we could accept the mentioned motto in view of the “hothouse effect” but one should have a certain logics when following the mottos : we cannot invert the order of the mottos without suffering (?) and losing all logics. Does Malachi start to betray us or does he show final fatigue and fancy ?
PASTOR ANGELICUS
As a matter of fact, who is PASTOR ANGELICUS ?
They have decided that it was PIUS XII but for which dazzling motive ?
Whereas the only unanimously angelical pope is JOHN XXIII, despite his short reign.
FLOS FLORUM
What has PAUL VI to do with the motto FLOS FLORUM ? Nothing, of course, since he has nothing in common with flowers, and ecology was not so much mentioned in his period, but rather he is the first to travel abroad, followed by JOHN-PAUL II, and this is much more significant than a motto that would perhaps remind of the pollution.
DE MEDIAETATE LUNAE
And JOHN-PAUL Ist has nothing to do with the just mentioned motto. A pope of 31 days as seen from 5 to 10 centuries in advance, cannot be cited on a serious list, and Malachi’s list is serious, though not canonical, until any contrary proof is proposed.
Little flexibility in the thinking should intervene here. At this stage, Malachi is undoubtedly a little tired, and surely long-sighted (he died at the age of 54), hypermetrope, or short-sighted, or affected by cataract, or even astigmatic, without attributing him any possible pigmentary retinitis. He is in a hurry to finish his work.
ONE CAN THEREFORE ATTRIBUTE TO HIM A NOVEL RATIONAL METHOD
Malachi reunites both popes :
PIUS XI and PIUS XII (from 1922 to 1958)
under the motto : FIDES INTREPIDA.
In order to resist communism and nazism, despite any threatening acts, they must really show an intrepid faith. This is sufficient to describe both of them marvelously.
JOHN XXIII (from 1958 to 1963)
then becomes the “angelical pastor” whom everybody considered as such and who moved the Church (in a way superior to the rules of humanity and therefore “angelical” = Vaticano II).
Calling PIUS XII “angelical” is ridiculous both as regards his personality and rigid character and his acts, not particularly angelical and brilliant, without any special charism (except for languages).
PAUL VI (from 1963 to 1978)
Becomes the PASTOR (the Council continues) and NAUTA (the travels).
(A curious story : upon one of PAUL VI’s travels abroad his plane hardly avoided, over Russia, Nixon’s plane, due to unskillfulness and under-equipment of the Russian controllers !)
He totally deserves this motto which he followed perfectly.
Outside, there is a great development of sects and travels for all.
JOHN-PAUL Ist,
a super-short reign, has no motto (ET = and) and is here only to leave room to JOHN-PAUL II, Karol Wojtyla, a Pole.
JOHN-PAUL II (from 1978 to 2005)
The present pope is not FLOS FLORUM either : it is not his style despite his appeals to the Virgin Mary and his numerous pilgrimages.He is not a “poetic” child but rather a passionate and severe doctrine keeper.
Ecology starts, there is no real development of it, apart from a lot of speeches.
Notwithstanding his individual distinct importance and his fifteen languages (for a quarter of a century) he continues the tasks of PAUL VI (rather pastor) and also benefits from the motto PASTOR ET NAUTA (rather navigator) in a perfect manner (more than 100 travels).
It is to be noted that such motto is double and could very well suit two successive popes.
The ET (=and) presents the very ephemeral and fugitive John-Paul Ist.
As a matter of fact, whether we like it or not, we are confronted with the grouping of several individuals into a single description (globalization).
Phenomena concerning the whole of humanity replace the individual description of each pope (without any coat of arms. Have they any
now ?), before suppression or disappearance of the popes ?
(One might also attribute FLOS FLORUM /ecology, hothouse effect cited everyday/ to the reign of JOHN-PAUL II; there would be one pope less in the future but the motto PASTOR ET NAUTA is so well suited to PAUL VI and JOHN-PAUL II that it is a pity to refuse it to them).
Ecology is THE problem of this century but only begins (poisenings, heats, and so on).
THE LAST MOTTOS OF FUTURE POPES
The other remaining mottos, and then we arrive at a date much further on, later than 2000 and 2028 (!), are the following :
FLOS FLORUM, DE MEDIAETATE LUNAE, DE LABORE SOLIS, DE GLORIA OLIVAE and PETER THE ROMAN (with an average of 25 years for each ?).
The date of 2028 for the last pope is worked out, as said above, from the motto “THE MIDDLE OF THE SIGN” applied to a pope of the XVIth century, but why should it be a rigid date whereas no date is given for any pope and the prophecy cannot be dated absolutely so that its true application starting point cannot be dated accurately ?
FLOS FLORUM (? From 200. to 2028 ?)
This poetic motto implies uncertainty. The only hypothesis that would willingly come up to mind, if the fate of humanity as a whole is considered, and not especially the pope and the religion, would finally be ecology and the more and more harmful significance of pollution, to which remedies are to be found.
Why not also consider this motto as the glorification of human love and alleviations of all not indispensable constraints ? And of women ?
This will be the motto of the next pope (post JOHN-PAUL II).
As regards DE MEDIAETATE LUNAE (? from 2028 to 2053 ?) we could imagine :
. all what relates to aeronautics, astronautics : the advanced orbital station which becomes an intermediary relay to the Moon ?
DE LABORE SOLIS (? From 2053 to 2078 ?) :
Why not a solar, not destructive, energy or the opposite, for the pessimistics : the famous hothouse effect or the influence of atomic energy (nuclear fusion) !
DE GLORIA OLIVAE (= “the glory of the olive tree”, ? from 2078 to
2103 ?).
We can see here an allusion to the peace which humanity is supposed to seek by constantly making the contrary. We can perhaps trust that UNO will succeed, due to the computers and holographic lasers, to immediately reveal the existence of the bad one who wants to kill his neighbour. The means applied will perhaps be simple and efficient, contrary to the sending of unhappy soldiers.
But maybe such “glory” (significance) relates to the plants and trees themselves (= oliver).
Perhaps the famous world-wide wars will be obsolete and the astronautics will sufficiently keep men busy so that they will think of something else, for example, preparing themselves to live on another planet (?) with the last pope (?) :
PETER THE ROMAN (? From 2103 to 2128 ?)
Is a liquidator or a transformer, for better or worse times that those who read me now will not see (25 years of average reign multiplied by 5 mottos gives : 125 + 2003 = 2128 !).
As in all prophecies, at that time, a few apocalyptic events should occur (destruction of Rome, and so on). Prophecies cannot end
happily !!!
Let us imagine this last pope leading a spaceship directed toward another planet to be evangelized (is there anybody ?) or saving some humanity semen ? Of course, I do not believe this vision : it is a joke).
Since I am not a professional prophet the debate is open because you are undoubtedly not convinced, but be good enough and do not tell me that PIUS XII, the rigid, is angelic pastor !
What would have done JP II in his place” ? The pope is a hierarchic ruler, that is all; in the old times they spoke to him as a reincarnation of the Christ : it is a man like Peter who denied him three times.
That he is there to deal with religion, cannot be questioned but he should also solve the internal and external problems (recrutement of priests !).
The frequent intention of exalting the function of pope by canonizing them is much less desirable than canonizing a worker or a family mother. If popes do not obey their boss, who will do ?
Shame to the old film “Pastor Angelicus” which refers to PIUS XII. (Revised in 2002/3 and written well before the film “Amen” concerning the supposed “non-actions” of Pius XII in respect to the Jews).
BENEDICT XVI (Joseph Ratzinger) °1927), Flos florum.
In view of his age the progress of medecine will give him a dozen years (2017 ?). Considering his sleeping character and his book writer capacities, if he makes mistakes, he will do so by returning to the past or by omission.
The motto obviously deals with the fate of the Earth. After the film by Al GORE :”An annoying truth” about the state of the Planet we have to worry about the means to correct the outrageous industrial behavior of humanity.
If we refer again to the prophet we hope for improvement of the present situation in this century.
We have to respect the work of this prophet who during centuries gave a unique characteristic to each pope.
How was he doing ? Nobody knows but saying that he wrote anything at random and that if it coincides it is a matter of luck constitutes a very poor evaluation.
The more surprising is that, contrary to the “foggy” prophets, he submits himself to the judgment of the chronology since his date markers are successive so that they can make sense.
At the end we are required to combine a few popes since the prophet seems to regroup terminal themes because the person of the pope himself is less important that the events suffered by humanity.
All of this corresponds to the image and sound civilization with instantaneous transmission which replaces the writing civilization to which the monotheistic religions are steadily connected.
Reasoning on a list and raising questions about it is permitted especially if one realizes how many things have been attributed to other “prophets” on the basis of sibylline expressions, notably in respect to times.
Finally Malachi is not, as was usual, a prophet of “unhappiness” since the situation will apparently improve.
Christmas 2006, and the year 2007
