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Pope Francis, the spiritual leader of 1.4 billion Catholics around the world, has died at the age of 88. He had been battling a number of age-related illnesses and was hospitalised for more than a month before his death.
His passing leaves the papacy vacant, triggering a formal and solemn process within the Vatican to elect a new Pope.
The Interregnum Begins After the Death of Pope Francis
Following the death of a pontiff, the Vatican enters a period known as the interregnum—the time between the end of one papacy and the election of a new Pope.
The process begins with the Camerlengo, the Vatican’s administrator of property and revenues, formally confirming the Pope’s death. In accordance with tradition, he calls out the deceased pontiff’s baptismal name three times. If there is no response, he officially declares the Pope dead.
A now-defunct tradition involving the use of a small silver hammer to tap the Pope’s forehead as a confirmation of death was discontinued after 1963.
A 900-Year-Old Prophecy Reignites Speculation After Death of Pope Francis
The passing of Pope Francis has sparked renewed public interest in a centuries-old Vatican manuscript titled “The Prophecy of the Popes” (Latin: “Prophetia Sancti Malachiae Archiepiscopi, de Summis Pontificibus”), a document some believe foretells the end of the world.
The prophecy is attributed to Saint Malachy, a 12th-century Irish bishop, and was discovered in 1590 by Benedictine monk Arnold Wion in the Vatican’s Secret Archives. The book contains 112 cryptic Latin phrases, each said to describe a future pope—starting with Celestine II and continuing through to the Church’s current leader.
“Axle in the Midst of a Sign”: The Sixtus V Connection
One notable passage, referring to Pope Sixtus V, reads, “Axle in the midst of a sign.” According to interpretations, this suggests Sixtus stood at the midpoint of the papal lineage. His tenure began 442 years after the rule of the first Pope. The logic some apply here is that the world would end 442 years later, in 2027—coinciding with the timeline for the “Final Judgement” predicted by the prophecy.
The Final Passage: “The Seven-Hilled City Will Be Destroyed”
The last section of the manuscript has fueled the most dramatic speculation. It reads, “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. The End.”
The “seven-hilled city” is widely believed to refer to Rome, home to the Vatican. Some interpreters see this as a sign that Pope Francis was the last Pope, with the next—perhaps “Peter the Roman”—presiding over the Church’s final days.
The fact that Pope Francis suffered from chronic lung disease has further stoked these theories in recent years.
A Prophecy Wrapped in Fiction and Dispute
The Prophecy of the Popes has captured the imagination of fiction writers over the years. It has appeared in popular novels such as Steve Berry’s The Third Secret (2005) and James Rollins’ The Doomsday Key (2009).
However, many modern scholars have cast doubt on the authenticity of the text, arguing that it may have been a cryptic forgery, possibly created for partisan political motives during the Renaissance.
Others point to the Bible itself, which warns believers not to trust predictions about the end times. In Matthew 24:36, it says, “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone.”
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