Prophecy of the Popes

The Prophecy of the Popes is a set of 112 supposed predictions of future Popes, attributed to the twelfth-century Irish but only known from 1590. The cryptic nature of the predictions has led to much speculation on their meaning, in a similar manner to those of Nostradamus, but not on such an industrial scale. On the other hand, it may be a form of Irish humour. The "prophecy" has, naturally shockingly enough, required rather more shoehorning to remain "accurate" for Popes elected after 1590.
The retirement of Benedict XVI, the penultimate Pope on the list, led to some theorizing by people who believe this list has any validity. Hopefully after this and the 2012 apocalypse turned into non-events fewer people will take end of the world doomsayers seriously, at least for a few years.
==Persons whose future utterances may be disregarded==
Bibleprobe.com ask if Benedict XVI is the final pope, and decide to mention, in a peroration on the antichrist, Vladimir Putin's visit to Israel.Malachy's Prophecies - The Last 10 Popes PrisonPlanet, of course, has its say, and a look through the comments gives us plenty of entertaining thinking ("THE MEDIA IS THE JDEOMSNC TOOL HELPING TO DESTROY CHRISTIANITY").Apocalypse Now? The Final Pope You'd think Marketwatch, run by the Wall Street Journal, might have something sensible to say, but again the comments, though slightly less conspiratorial than prisonplanet, can come up trumps. "Too many people are controlled by the illumanati media music ect. [sic] just like here chasing the money root of all evil (devil is in the gooberment [sic]) 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 must killl [sic] the beast so pray[er] is the only hope we have and conversion GOD has a plan for us that try to be good," says the no doubt wise and learned Timmy Martin.Prophecy: Is the next pope the last pope?
==Petrus Romanus==
This can easily be interpreted as the Last Judgement but if the world survives the prediction is sufficiently vague that other events can be shoehorned to fit. 
Petrus Romanus is often translated as Peter the Roman, but "petrus" can also mean a "rock", the Latinised version of Greek "petros".
Since Pope Benedict resigned while living, it is likely not all Roman Catholics will see his successor as valid. Benedict XVI resignation: The two-pope problem
===Runners and riders===
In the runup to the February 2013 conclave, candidates for the final Pope were:Who will be the next pope? The contenders for Vatican's top job
*Peter Turkson (born 1948), a Ghanaian and a "wonderful" "people's person" apparently. Would be the first African Pope since in 496. And check that first name! One website expected Peter the Ghanaian to become Peter the Roman.The Coming Black Pope
*Tarcisio Pietro Bertone (Pietro is Peter in English) 'Final pope' already running Vatican?Benedict might have 'stacked deck' in fulfillment of prophecy Tarcisio is also an anagram of Iscariot in English. Spooky. He was born at Romano Canavese.
*Marc Ouellet (born 1944) would be the first Quebecois, or even North American, Pope. Issued an apology in 2007 for the Church's pre-1960's racist, sexist and homophobic attitudes. Abortion, though, is still a "moral crime", even in cases of rape.
*Angelo Scola (born 1941): "we Christians often propose [matters] moralistically instead of giving reasons, instead of convincing...This is a weakness of ours." No shit.
*Pietro Parolin, Vatican diplomat and ambassador to Hugo Chavez and elsewhere.
*Odilo Scherer, middle name "Pedro" (Portuguese for Peter), a vocal opponent of abortion, and of the secularization of Brazil.
That's an awful lot of Peters. Or a lot of awful Peters.
===And the winner is...===
Jorge Mario Bergoglio, who has taken the Papal name Francis. Not a Peter in sight. Jorge, you should be ashamed - you've let down millions of conspiracy theorists! 
Wait! There are several Peters after all, Saint Francis was originally Giovanni Di Pietro Di Bernardone. Uncanny! Popes' coats of arms back up prophecy Giovanni de Pietro di Bernardone, Saint Francis of Assisi And the Vatican stated bones they found are those of Peter the Apostle so with a bit of imagination that can also make Francis into Peter the Roman.Peter The Roman: St. Peter’s Bones Linked To Petrus Romanus Conspiracy Theory And there are yet more coincidences linking Pope Francis to Peter, to rocks and a great deal more. Pope Francis Is ‘Petrus Romanus’, Here’s Why. Peter is a common name and rocks are a major part of the earth, therefore it should not surprise us that Francis can be shoehorned into the prophecy.
==See also==
*List of predictions of the end of the world
==References==
Category:Catholicism
Category:Christianity
Category:Popes