Since François’ death, false information around the Vatican has aroused renewed interest. False texts from the Pope on happiness, which circulated throughout his pontificate, thus reappeared, sometimes presented as his last message. In another genre, the alleged prophecy of Malachia announcing the end of time from the count of a list of popes, has found a new popularity, as with each conclave since at least the death of John Paul II.
However, this time, it would indeed be the advent of the apocalypse, the list of 111 popes drawn up by the said prophet having been exhausted. This theory is part of a long fascination for the papacy mixed with apocalyptic prophecies. An ancient tradition, and always alive despite secularization, as the historian Philippe Martin, professor of modern history in Lyon-2, recalls, former director of the Higher Institute for the Study of Religions and Laïcité (Iserl) and author of numerous works on the history of Christianity.
What does the prophecy of Saint Malachia say?
This is a text that at
