The Prophecy Of St. Malachy

[poliphilo]

The Prophecy of St. Malachy is a list of 112 popes, each characterised by a brief, cryptic, Latin tag, supposedly drawn up by Malachy, a 12th century bishop of Armagh.  At the time it first surfaced- in 1590- 73 of these popes were in the past- with 38 still to come. The present pope- characterised as Gloria Olivae, Glory of the Olive- is the 111th on the list.  After him we can expect one last pope, Petrus Romanus, who will hold office until the coming of the judex tremendus- the just and terrible judge.

Of course it's almost certainly a forgery- the work of someone trying to swing a late 17th century papal election;  but one can dream...