St. Malachy (Bishop Malachy O'Morgair, 1094-1148)

"In the final persecution of the holy Roman Church there will reign Peter the Roman, who will feed his flock amongst many tribulations; after which the Seven-hilled City (Rome) will be destroyed and the dreadful Judge will judge the people." --so saith Malachy, prophet of doom

Malachy was born in Armagh (in what is now Northern Ireland) and is believed by many to have had the gift of prophecy. He predicted British oppression for the Irish (good call) and conversion of the English back to Catholicism (bad call, but hope springs eternal in the mystic's heart, so, maybe next year...). According to the Abbé Cucherat, Malachy had strange visions of the future, including a list of the popes until the end of time.*

Some Roman Catholics think Malachy has predicted that Armageddon is just around the corner and that after the current pope there will only be two more popes before the end of the world. Of course Malachy didn't name the popes by name--otherwise we'd all be believers in his prophetic skills. He gave them descriptive names. John Paul II, the current pope, is number 110 and he was christened "De Labore Solis," from the labor of the sun. Those who have the gift of interpretation tell us that this is an accurate prophecy because John Paul II's father was a laborer and he has traveled around the earth (like the sun? well, remember, the prediction was pre-Copernicus). Some think the name refers to the fact that there was a total eclipse of the sun when JP II was born.

Malachy's prophecies are said to have been locked away for four hundred years before they were allegedly discovered in 1590 in the Roman Archives. Arnold de Wyon first published them. The debate has raged ever since as to whether they are forgeries or genuine predictions of St. Malachy.*  

See also doomsday & doomsday cults.

further reading

websites

St. Malachy - The Catholic Encyclopedia

prophecies of St. Malachy - The Catholic Encyclopedia

St. Malachy's Prophecy & Pope Pius XIII by Gordon Cardinal Bateman

news story

English protestants may not be converting to Catholicism but, thanks to immigrants, Catholics now outnumber Anglicans in England

Last updated 26-Jul-2015