by
Jon Christian Ryter
April 8, 2005
from
NewsWithViews Website
In 1094 A.D. a son and heir was born into a propertied family of
noble birth named O’Morgair in Armagh, in what is now Northern
Ireland. The male child was baptized Maelmhaedhoc. In later years,
when he was placed under the tutorship of Imbar O’Hagan in the Abby
at Armagh for his formal schooling, Maelmhaedhoc’s name would be
Latinized, and he would become known as Malachy.
His Irish
descendants adopted Maelmhaedhoc O’Morgair’s baptismal name—Malachy—
as the family’s surname. After a long course of studies, young Maelmhaedhoc decided —or rather, his father did—he wanted to become
a Roman Catholic priest. He was ordained in 1119 AD at the age of
25. He continued his theological education in Lismore. Malachy, was
ordained as Abbot of Bangor in 1123.
A year later he was consecrated
as the Archbishop of Connor. In 1127 he became "father confessor" to
Cormac MacCarthy, Prince of Desmond (who would later become the King
of Ireland). In 1132 he was promoted to the primacy of Armagh.
Malachy died on his second pilgrimage to Rome in 1148. He was
canonized by Pope Clemente III on July 6, 1199. Interestingly, among
Malachy’s prophesies was his prediction of the day and hour of his
own death—and it was accurate.
Malachy had the gift of healing to aid the sick. In addition, he
reported possessed the powers of levitation and clairvoyance.
Numerous miracles are attributed to his ministry. He was also
endowed with the gift of prophecy. Most important of all of his
prophesies was one concerning the succession of the Popes—from Pope
Innocent II (who became pontiff in 1140) to the pope who will follow
John Paul II—the last Catholic pontiff. According to his prophecy,
the line of popes will end, abruptly, with the next pope. He was
described in the prophesies of St. Malachy as Gloria Olivae (the
glory of the olive).
During his reign, peace will descend over the Mideast. Historians believe that
Malachy received his papal
secession vision during his visit to Rome in 1140 for the coronation
of Innocent II. Historians claim that Malachy gave the recorded
vision to the new pontiff to "comfort him in his afflictions."
Innocent II placed the document in the papal archive where they
remained for four centuries, read only by the curator of the library
and other high-ranking church officials.
Those Christians who believe Antichrist will be the Pope will see a
fulfillment of Biblical prophecy in the Malachy Prophecy. The
prophecy advances the secession of Roman Catholic pontiffs from
Celestine II [1143 AD] to John Paul II’s successor, who will be
revealed within the next 30 days) [2005 AD]. Malachy wrote that he
was inscribing the pontiffs from Celestine II "...to the end of the
world." In a vision the Holy Spirit revealed each future pontiff by
his character, geographic or physiological attributes, or his coat
of arms. In all, Malachy described 111 popes.
However, in the 1820 printed version of Malachy’s prophesies,
Lignum Vitre (written in 1559 by a Benedictine historian,
Arnold Wyon), a
112th pope appears that was not in Malachy’s original manuscript.
The 112th pope was added by the Olivetan monks. The
Order of St.
Benedict claims this final pope will come within the Benedictine
Order, and that he was placed in the secession line because St.
Benedict himself prophesied that before the end of the world, his
Order will triumphantly lead the Catholic Church in its battle
against evil (the Battle of Armageddon).
St. Benedict’s "prophecy" was more wishful thinking than it was
spiritual insight from God. Although Malachy entrusted his vision to
paper and gave the manuscript to Pope Innocent II for safe keeping,
Father Claude Francois Menestrier, a famous 18th century
Jesuit,
claims the prophecies were actually written in 1590 by Cardinal Simoncelli
to influence the election of the Cardinal of his choice
as pontiff that year.
The argument advanced by advocates who favor
the later date is based on the whimsical notion that because Malachy
never mentioned writing the papal ascension prophecy, he probably
didn’t. Skeptics of that era felt its more likely that Cardinal Simoncelli wrote them. However, three simple facts suggest
Menestrier was wrong, and that Malachy did write them.
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First, Vatican records show that the document was
entrusted to
Innocent II in 1140. Like many other important Vatican documents,
the Malachy Prophecy was one of the early documents printed on the
Gutenberg Press in 1455—135 years before Cardinal Simoncelli
supposed wrote them
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Second, while the Malachy Prophecy was unknown
outside the church hierarchy, printed copies of the prophecy were in
circulation before 1590
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And finally, third, Malachy’s Prophecy
begins with the successor to Innocent II—Celestine II. Had Simoncelli wrote them, the Prophecy would have begun with one of
three other Popes (since three pontiffs reigned that year)
First,
the prophecy might have begun with Felice Peretti who was elected
Pope Sixtus V on April 4, 1585. He died on Aug. 17, 1590. Succeeding
him was Gambattista Castagna who was elected Pope Urban VII on Sept.
15, 1590. He was the shortest reigning pontiff in the history of the
papacy —12 days. He died on Sept. 27, 1590. He was succeeded by Nicolo Spondrati who took the name
Gregory XIV. Spondrati was
elected on Dec. 5, 1590 and died on Oct. 5, 1591.
The Prophecy would
not have begun, by prophetic inference with a pope—Celestine II—who
had been dead for 446 years if Simoncelli wrote the papal prophecy.
He would have known that Guido Del Castello de Castellis became
Pope
Celestine II. Nor would there be any reason to mention the other
popes and anti-popes in the line of succession between Celestine II
and Sixtus V or Urban VII or Gregory XIV since there would be
nothing prophetic about mentioning long dead pontiffs by prophetic
inference when the writer would have possessed their names..
The future pontiffs were identified by a key event in the personal
history of that pope or some other identifying attribute that was
unique to that man. For example:
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Clement XIII who served as pontiff
for 11 years between 1758 and 1769, had close ties with the Italian
state of Umbria (whose State emblem was the rose). Malachy referred
to him as the "Rosa Umbriae," or the "Rose of Umbria."
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Pius II—the
second shortest reigning pontiff in the history of the Church was
pope for only 26 days in 1503—was described in Malachy’s prophecy as
"De Parvo Homine" (from a little man). His family name was
Piccolomini—Italian for "little man."
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Cardinal Giovanni Angelico
Braschi, the longest serving pope, was coroneted in 1755 and reigned
until his death in 1799—44 years. He lived 82 years—serving as
pontiff for over half his life. Contemporary Christian writers refer
to Pius VI as the Apostolic Pilgrim on Earth. Malachy aptly
described him as the pilgrim pope. In rare instances, as it was with
Pius VII, it was the political circumstance under which he was
coroneted.
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Pius VII—Barnaba Chiaramonte—was named a cardinal by Pope
Pius VI in 1786. His rise to power in the Church was overshadowed by
the rise in power of Napoleon Bonaparte. The Conclave of Cardinals
elected him Pope in 1800. He died in 1823. His pontificate was
symbolized by the eagle—the symbol by which Napoleon was known.
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Pope Leo XIII [1878-1903]—He was described in the papal prophecy as
"Lumen in Caelo" (Light in the Heavens). Real name:
Gioacchio
Vincenzo Raffaele. His coat of arms depicted a shooting star.
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Pope
Pius X [1903-1914]—"Ignis Ardens" (Burning Fire). Real name:
Giuseppe Melchiarre Sarto. It was during Sarto’s reign that Europe
ignited in war, and like a brush fire, the flames of discontent
spread from one nation to the next until finally, in 1914, war
engulfed the entire continent.
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Benedict XV [1914-22] "Religio
Depopulata" (Religion Devastated) Real name: Giacomo Della Chiesa.
Benedict XV was known as the pope of war as the flames of discontent
traversed the globe. But even more important, the godless,
secular
New World Order that will see the fulfillment of the prophesies in
Revelation 13 (one world government), Revelation 17 (the one world
church) and Revelation 18 (the one world economy) was born in
1920—during his reign.
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Pope Pius XI [1922-1939]— "Fides Intrepida"
(Unshaken Faith) Real name: Achilee Ratti. As pontiff, Ratti
witnessed the world prepare for a sequel to the "war to end all
wars." He witnessed the birth of the abortion movement in Europe and
the rise of atheistic secularism as it was taught to the world’s
youths in the major colleges and universities of the world as globalists faced the challenge or evicting
God from the minds of the
citizens of the emerging New World Order.
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Pope Pius XII
[1939-1958]—"Pastor Angelicus" (Angelic Shepherd). Real name:
Eugento Pacelli. Pacelli spent most of his early church career in
the diplomatic service of the Vatican. From 1917 until 1929, he was
Nuncio in Germany. In 1930 he became Vatican Secretary of State. He
was a natural choice to follow Ratti into the papacy since there
were no other church leaders experienced enough to deal with the
Church, and with heads of State, during a global conflict. The
publication of a myriad of Catholic Church documents between 1967
and 1990 confirm that, from his actions and secret papal decrees
throughout the war years, Pius XII was, in the truest sense, the
angelic pastor of his flock.
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Pope John XXIII [1958-1963]—"Pastor et nauta" (Pastor and mariner) Real name:
Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli.
Roncalli spend several years as the apostolic delegate and Nuncio in
Turkey, Greece, Bulgaria and France. Roncalli was named Archbishop
of Areoplis (Rabbath and Moah) in Palestine around the birth of
Israel in 1948. In 1953 Pope Pius XII named him as the Cardinal of
Venice. He was viewed, at the time, as the most beloved of all
modern popes. That was, of course, until the pontificating of Karol
Wojtyla, the Polish prince of the church, John Paul II.
Most
historians believe Roncalli fulfilled the Malachy Prophecy as the
"mariner" through his tenure in Venice, the water city. However,
prophetically, when he became the Archbishop of Palestine, he could
be construed as being "an evangelical mariner" since the lands of
the Gentiles and Muslims are prophetically referred to as "the sea."
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Pope Paul VI [1953-1968]—"Flos Florum" (Flower of flowers). His
reign as pontiff was relatively short—only five years. Real name:
Giovanni Battista Montini. Like Pius XII he reached the zenith of
power in the Catholic Church through the office of the Vatican
Secretary of State. The Conclave of Cardinals elected him Pope in
1963. The coat of arms of the Montini family depicts three
fleurs-de-lis.
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Pope John Paul I [1978-1978 (34 days)]—"DeMedietate
lunae" (of the half moon). Real name: Albino Buciani. Buciani served
almost three times as long as Pope Urban VII, yet has the
distinction of being the second shortest reigning pope. It was
because of the briefness of his tenure that Wojtyla took the papal
name, John Paul II. During the brief reign of John Paul I, the rise
of Muslim extremism against the Gentile world exploded and
OPEC (Oil
Producing Exporting Countries) was born, and the Arabs began to use
oil as a weapon against the industrial nations. The symbol of the
Muslim world is the crescent—the half moon.
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Pope John Paul II
[1978-2005]—"De Lobaore solis" (Of the eclipse of the sun) Or, the
phrase could also be interpreted as "from the toil of the sun." John
Paul II, the Polish Prince of the Catholic Church, has proven in
death to be the most admired man in the world. Over 3 million people
have traveled to Rome to pay their last respects to the fallen
pontiff who mastered 8 languages but spoke 20 as he evangelized the
world for Christ. Unlike most of the early Popes who came from the
landed class of their time, Karol Wojtyla , like several of the
modern day popes, came from the common working class and spend much
time as a laborer in Poland, working under the hot, European sun.
However, many other Popes could claim the same, thus the analogy
"from the toil of the sun" does not appear to fit. Thus historians
scrambled to examine how many solar eclipses took place during the
reign of John Paul II. In the two plus decades of John Paul II’s
pontificate, there were 16 solar eclipses that were visible from
southern Europe. But, there is too much ambiguity here because as
you travel around the globe, 16 solar eclipses in one part of the
world may be 9 solar eclipses, or 5, or 3, somewhere else. Or a
total eclipse in my part of the country, or world, will likely be a
partial eclipse in yours. The prophecy is much simpler than that.
Karol Wojtyla was born on May 18, 1920 during a solar eclipse in
Poland.
On April 8. 2005 during the funeral services for the
pontiff, the world will experience an unusual hybrid eclipse of the
Sun. The central path of the eclipse will run across the South
Pacific where it will change from an annular eclipse to a total
eclipse, and then back to an annular eclipse again before it reaches
South America. It will be seen as a partial eclipse in the southern
United States. It was visible from southern California, swinging
northward to New Jersey. No eclipse was visible north of that
diagonal line. It would appear that the eclipse of the sun fits far
better than "from the toll of the sun."
I had previously read, in various articles and books, that the
Malachy Prophecy specifically targeted the origin of the 110th pope
as being from either Poland or Eastern Europe. Those reports are
untrue. In reality as the Malachy Prophecy is carefully examined, it
is accurate—to this point. There remains one pontiff in this
prophecy. (If you add the Benedictine prophecy, described as
Petrus
Romanus, there are two). But, the Benedictine addition is not part of
the original prophecy and, therefore, does not belong. The 111th
Pope is described as Gloria Olivae (the glory of the olives).
There are a couple of palatably logical scenarios here.
First,
olives and olive branches denote peace. With the continuous strife
in the Middle East—wars and rumors of war—and with Bible prophesy
telling us that when Antichrist appears on the world he will arrange
a peace so deceitfully alluring that the world will adore him.
That’s one.
The other? That our new pontiff might arise from a
third
world Muslim country—or that his roots are from the Middle East.
There is one more. The Order of the Benedictines is also known as
the "Olivetans." St. Benedict prophesied that the last pope would be
from that order. It is possible that God planned this in His own
calculations, and that Gloria Olivae and not Petrus Romanus is the
Olivetan priest. I guess in the upcoming days or weeks, we will
learn the answer. An 865-year old prophecy will shortly come true—or
prove to be a fraud. Up to this point, it has been deadly accurate.
What are the odds, at this late date, that the balance of it proves
to be wrong?
While you are mulling over the pros and cons of that question, here
are a few other medieval prophecies dealing with our current age
that might add some additional weight to the heaviness of the
Malachy Prophecy—or give the skeptic cause to scoff.
One of the most striking prophesies, reminiscent of the recent
tsunami and the earthquakes now following the Pacific "ring of fire"
as hundreds of submerged volcanoes becomes active, was made by
St.
Hildegard shortly before his death in the 12th Century, was this
one:
"The time is coming when princes and peoples will reject the
authority of the Pope. Some countries will prefer their own Church
rulers to the Pope. The German Empire will be divided. Before the
comet comes, many nations, the good excepted, will be scourged by
want and famine. The Great Nation in the ocean that is inhabited by
people of different tribes and descent will be devastated by
earthquake, storm, and tidal wave. It will be divided and, in great
part, submerged.
That nation will have many misfortunes at sea and
lose it colonies. After the great comet, the Great Nation will be
devastated by earthquakes, storms and great waves of water, causing
much want and plagues. The ocean will also flood many other
countries so that all coastal cities will live in fear, with many
destroyed. All sea coast cities will be fearful, and many of them
will be destroyed by tidal waves, and most living creatures will be
killed, and even those who escape will die from a horrible disease.
For in one of those cities does a person live according to the Laws
of God. A powerful wind will rise in the North, carrying heavy fog
and the densest dust, and it will fill their throats and eyes so
that they will cease in their butchery and be stricken with great
fear."
John of Vitiguerro, in the 13th century prophesied that
"...The pope
will change his residence and the Church will not be defended for 25
months because during all that time there will be no Pope in Rome.
After many tribulations, a Pope shall be elected out of those who
survived the persecutions."
A 14th century bishop, John of the Cleft
Rock prophesied that
"...Towards the end of the world, tyrants and
hostile mobs will rob the Church and the clergy of all their
possessions and will afflict and martyr them. Those who heap the
most abuse upon them will be held in high esteem. At that time, the
Pope and his cardinals will have to flee Rome in tragic
circumstances to a place where they will be unknown. The Pope will
die a cruel death in his exile. The sufferings of the Church will be
much greater than at any previous time in her history. But God will
raise a holy Pope, and the Angels will rejoice."
Before he died in 1878, Pope Pius IX uttered these words:
"There
will come a great wonder, which will fill the world with
astonishment. This wonder will be preceded by the triumph of
revolution. The Church will suffer exceedingly. Her servants and
chieftains will be mocked, scourged, and martyred."
Prior to his
prophecy, the Ecstatic of Tours uttered these prophetic words:
"Before the war breaks out, food will become scarce and expensive.
There will be little work for the workers, and fathers will hear
their children crying for food. There will be earthquakes and
signs
in the sun. Toward the end, darkness will cover the Earth. When
everyone believes that peace is ensured, when everyone least expects
it, the Great Happening will begin."
Hmm... if I didn’t know better, I might think that Matthew 24:5-30
was about to happen. Are you ready? If the Malachy Prophecy is true,
we’d better all be.
[Editors Note: The Eclipse did occur south of the equator on Friday
8th of April, 2005]
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