So, Saint Malachy prophesied that the 112th pope ” Petrus Romanus, qui paſcet oues in multis tribulationibus: quibus tranſactis ciuitas ſepticollis diruetur, & Iudex tremẽdus iudicabit populum ſuum”1
Translated it would read “Peter the Roman, who will pasture his sheep in many tribulations, and when these things are finished, the city of seven hills [i.e. Rome] will be destroyed, and the dreadful judge will judge his people. The End”
Now we have St Francis as the 112th pope, so what do we, The Father’s House Church make of it?
First of all, the only reason I brought the prophecy of the popes to your attention is because the Lord convinced me that Pope Benedict will not remain a pope for much longer. If you remember, this was in November/December 2012. Due to that, I found the prophecy by St Malachy interesting but I wish to make it clear that this is by no means part of a doctrine in our Church.
Given that, do I personally believe that the prophecy is wrong? No, but does it matter to us as a church? No. Do I want you to consider or believe this “prophecy”? No.
Do I believe that these are the end times? Yes. Does this mean the rapture is imminent? Yes. Are these beliefs because of the prophecy of the popes? No.
Can I validate my belief that we are living in the end times and the doctrine of imminence with scriptures? Yes. Does this mean that Jesus is going to come on a set date? No. Will I set dates? No way.
Furthermore, on one hand, this prophecy is a Catholic Church document. I am not part of that church in any way form or manner. On the other hand, this prophecy has been blown out of proportion by “protestant” prophecy buffs, some of which have gone as far as setting dates for rapture and second coming. I neither sit, stand nor walk with them.
For those interested, I’ll share my views on this. The way I see it, if Saint Malachy was right all the way till now, there is no reason for him to be wrong now.
Pope Francis, the new Pope, formerly Jorge Mario Bergoglio, served as the archbishop of Buenos Aires, is the first pope to take the name in honor of St. Francis of Assisi. St. Francis of Assisi was born Francesco di Pietro di Bernardone. So some have begun to make a connection to the fact that the name “Peter” is there in St. Francis’s name. However, given the pattern of the prophecy, “Petrus Romanus” need not be a title but a description, meaning the 112th pope need not be called “Peter the Roman”.
Others have noted that the new Pope Jorge Mario Bergoglio is the son of Italian parents (Roman).
What strikes me personally the most is that he is the first Jesuit Pope. Though not initially formed for the purpose, Jesuits aimed to stop Protestantism from spreading and to preserve communion with Rome and the successor of Peter.2
This is more in line with “Peter the Roman or Petrus Romanus, who will pasture his sheep in many tribulations”.