St. Malachy was given much attention after the seemingly accurate predictions of the previous two popes before Pope Francis which were attributed to him.

But is the St. Malachy prophecy real, and does it truly predict the future? The answers to those questions are left up to to discernment and likely require more research

Saint Malachy was born in 1094 at Armagh, Ireland and died on November 2, 1148. St. Malachy was canonized in 1190 by Pope Clement III. This was the first papal canonization of an Irish saint. The source of the prophecy attributed to him is still up for debate, but the following is how it is usually related:

While in Rome in 1139 St. Malachy received a vision showing him all the Popes from his day to the end of time. He wrote poetic descriptions of each of the pontiffs and presented the complete manuscript to Pope Innocent II, but the prophecies were forgotten in the Vatican until 1590. These mottoes in the prophecies usually refer to a family name, birthplace, a coat-of-arms, or an office held before election to the papacy.

For example, Pope Pius II, who was Pope for just 26 days in 1503, was prophesied by St. Malachy as “De Parvo Homine,” which means ‘from a little man.’ His family name was Piccolomini, Italian for “little man.” Also, St. Malachy sometimed use the Pope’s personal history to make a motto. Pope Clement XIII (1758), who had conenctions with the government of the Italian state of Umbria and whose emblem was a rose, was called by Malachy ‘Rosa Umbriae,’ the “Rose of Umbria.”

According to the St. Malachy prophecies, Pope Francis is the last pope. Below you will find the last 9 Popes as predicted by St. Malachy, each beginning with the motto ascribed to the pontiff.

1. Religion Laid Waste. BENEDICT XV. 1914-1922. Pope Benedict XV’s reign saw Communism move into Russia where religious life was laid waste, and World War I with the death of millions of Christians.

2. Unshaken Faith. PIUS XI. 1922-1939. Pope Pius XI faced mounting pressure from fascist and other evil powers in Germany and Italy, but he was an outspoken critic of Communism and Fascism. This, of course, enraged Hitler.

3. Angelic Shepherd. PIUS XII. 1939-1958. Pius XII was a very spiritual Pope and he received visions which have not been made public. Peter Bander says Pius XII “has emerged as one of the great Popes of all time,” and he “was in the truest sense of the word an Angelic Pastor to the flock…”

4. Pastor and Mariner. JOHN XXIII. 1958-1963. John was a beloved pastor to the world, and Patriarch of Venice, a mariner’s city.

5. Flower of Flowers. PAUL VI. 1963-1978. Paul’s coat-of-arms depicts three fleurs-de-lis (iris blossoms).

6. Of the Half Moon. JOHN PAUL I. 1978-1978. John Paul I was elected Pope on August 26, 1978, when there was a half moon. He reigned 33 days, about one month or one lunar cycle, and then died. He was born in the diocese of Belluno (beautiful moon) and was baptized Albino Luciani (white light). He became pope on August 26, 1978, when the moon appeared exactly half full. It was in its waning phase. He died the following month, soon after an eclipse of the moon.

7. The Labor of the Sun. JOHN PAUL II. 1978-2005. Pope John Paul II, like the sun, circled the globe many times in his evangelical travels. He was born on May 18, 1920, on the day of an eclipse of the sun. Likewise, his funeral took place on the day of a solar eclipse. Pope John Paul II was intensely devoted to the Blessed Mother, and in Revelations Mary is depicted as “a woman clothed with the sun” who gives birth to Jesus.

8. The Glory of the Olive. POPE BENEDICT XVI. 2005-2013 Pope Benedict XVI took his name from St. Benedict, whose order was known as the Olivetans. Most scholars concluded long before the election that St. Malachy’s prophecy alluded to a connection to St. Benedict. Also of note, Jesus gave his apocalyptic prophecy about the end of time from the Mount of Olives.

9. PETER THE ROMAN. Is this somehow a reference to Pope Francis? Perhaps time will tell.

Malachy added this to his final prophecy: “In the final persecution of the Holy Roman Church there will reign Petrus Romanus, who will feed his flock amid many tribulations; after which the seven-hilled city (The Vatican) will be destroyed and the dreadful Judge will judge the people. The End.“

So, what do you think about the St. Malachy prophecy? Let us know in the comments box below.