Recently, an old prophecy regarding Pope Francis being the last leader of the Catholic Church has gained attention online, but experts argue it is a ‘forgery’.
On Easter Monday (April 21), Cardinal Kevin Farrell, the Camerlengo, declared that Pope Francis had passed away at the age of 88 at the Domus Sanctae Marthae in Vatican City.
Pope Francis, who led the Catholic Church from March 13, 2013, until his death in 2025, was the first Latin American pope, originally from Buenos Aires, Argentina.
The Vatican concluded its period of mourning for Pope Francis on Sunday (May 4), with preparations for the papal conclave to elect the next pope beginning on Wednesday.
An alleged prophecy, published by Benedictine Arnold de Wyon, suggests there will be no 113th Pope, identifying Francis as the last.
This idea is known as The Prophecy of the Popes, a Latin document containing 112 brief, cryptic descriptions intended to predict popes starting with Celestine II, who became pope in 1143.
The prophecy, published in 1595, was attributed to Irish Saint Malachy, a former Archbishop of Armagh from the 12th century.
The list, thought to accurately describe popes up to around 1590, starts in the 1100s and concludes after 112 popes.
Following Pope Francis’ death, some conspiracy theorists believe the list implies no pope will be chosen at the upcoming conclave.
Others propose that a pope will be elected, who will be the first in 1,000 years not predicted by St. Malachy.
Discussing the prophecy, Fr. James Weiss, an Episcopal priest and church history professor at Boston College, told USA Today he considers them a ‘forgery’.
He mentioned to the publication that many examples describing popes post-1590 are ‘hit and miss’, with some instances requiring more stretch than others.
The Prophecy of the Popes described the 112th pope as ‘Peter the Roman’, with some interpreting a brief paragraph as foretelling the end of the world or the ‘second coming’ of Jesus.
The paragraph allegedly mentions the destruction of the ‘city of seven hills’, believed to be Rome, and a ‘dreadful judge’.
“In the final persecution of the Holy Roman Church, there will reign Peter the Roman, who will feed his flock amid many tribulations, after which the seven-hilled city will be destroyed and the dreadful Judge will judge the people,” it states. “The End.”
Weiss suggested that the widespread doomsday interpretation could be mistaken.
Instead, he indicated it might refer to a non-apocalyptic event or possibly a judgment by a national leader.
Pope Francis, who chose his papal name after Francis of Assisi, is the 266th pope in Vatican history and the 101st pope to be officially recognized by the Church since Malachy’s time.
However, Weiss claims some believe Francis is the 112th and final pope because, historically, the Catholic Church had multiple leaders claiming to be pope simultaneously.
“Believers in Malachy’s prophecy include in the count a few of those antipopes – figures not formally recognized by the Vatican,” USA Today reports.
Regardless of beliefs about a new pope, an official conclave is set to commence in the Sistine Chapel in Rome this week, where eligible cardinals will cast their votes.
The conclave will continue until a new pope is elected, with potential candidates like Pietro Parolin, Peter Erdo, Jean-Marc Aveline, and Pierbattista Pizzaballa being considered in this unpredictable process.
Once a new pope is officially elected by the Catholic Church, smoke will be seen rising from the small chimney atop the Sistine Chapel.