Original subtitles

(dramatic orchestral music)

- [Narrator] The Catholic Church guides

1.2 billion believers around the world

but no one has unraveled the mysteries of the Vatican,

the independent state, capital of the Church,

fraught with secrecy. (dramatic music)

A text written several centuries ago

could bring major changes, The Prophecy of the Popes.

A prophecy that seems to have been

at the heart of Vatican power,

a prophecy that the church appears

to have hidden from the world for centuries.

(ominous music)

All these events were planned, written, and announced

by Malachy of Armagh, the author of this prophecy.

A text with 111 cryptic phrases,

it lists all the popes from the 12th century to present day.

(ominous music)

- [Translator] The prophecy is very precise.

- [Narrator] More worrying, the list ends with a punishment,

a single paragraph announcing the end of the Papacy,

the destruction of Rome, and judgment day.

All set to happen only a few years from now.

- [Translator] God can do what he wants, and if he decides

that he does not need the Papacy,

then there will be no more Papacy.

- For Malachy, Francis is the last pope.

- The world will end so there has to be a last pope.

- What's going to happen?

The collapse of Rome, that's what we're told.

- [Narrator] Is Francis the last pope?

(ominous music)

- Pray for me. - Has the end of the world

been announced or is just another apocalyptic prophecy?

- [Translator] Everything is made to measure,

and we see nothing.

(dramatic music) - Let's look at

The Prophecy of the Popes in detail.

It has proven it's worth over the last few centuries.

(dramatic ominous music)

(pensive dramatic piano music)

(dramatic reverberating music)

Let's head to the Library of Lyon, where the work which

contains the Prophecy of the Popes is preciously persevered.

(solemn music)

Even though it was written

in the 12th century, the Prophecy of the Popes

was published in 1595, as a simple chapter in the book,

Lignum Vitae.

Jean-Marie Beuzelin, the author of The Surprising Prophecy

of St. Malachy, reveals its secrets.

- A Benedictine, Arnold Wion, wrote a book called

Lignum Vitae, here before us, wrote

the prophecy attributed to St. Malachy.

(speaking in foreign language)

(dramatic music)

- In fact, it's a text that was discovered

at the end of the 16th century, in 1590 to be precise,

by a Benedictine monk called Arnold De Wion, of Venice.

He claimed he had discovered, by an extraordinary stroke

of luck, the prophetic text written in the 12th century,

by Malachy. (dramatic music)

(speaking in foreign language)

The prophecy is strictly speaking, in the left column.

The succession of very short phrases in Latin.

On the right are the notes of Arnold Wion,

and the other Benedictines who studied the text with him.

(dramatic string music)

- The prophecy of St. Malachy has the list of the 111 popes

and an epilogue. (dramatic string music)

- [Narrator] The 111 phrases are supposed to characterize

all the popes from Pope Celestine II until the last

on the list, Benedict XVI, after that,

there's a break followed by a longer and more explicit

112th prediction. (dramatic music rises)

- [Translator] The mystery is that the 112th entry

is followed by a kind of prophecy, the only real prophecy

of the prophecy of St. Malachy is the 112th phrase.

- [Narrator] Pope Benedict XVI is the 111th of the list,

leaving only the last paragraph

of the Prophecy of the Popes to be fulfilled

in the events that it announces are particularly chilling.

"In the final persecution of the Holy Roman Church,

"there will sit Peter the Roman,

"who will pasture his sheep in many tribulations.

"And when these things are finished,

"the city of seven hills will be destroyed,

"and the dreadful judge will judge his people, the end."

(dramatic music)

(speaking in foreign language)

- [Translator] The last text

of the prophecy of Malachy announces three things.

The first is that the last pope will be called

Peter the Roman, second, that the church will undergo

extreme persecution, and the third is that Rome

will be destroyed.

(speaking in foreign language)

(dramatic music)

- [Narrator] The apocalypse, the end of the Papacy,

and judgment day. (dramatic music)

If one takes the last paragraph of Malachy's prophecy

literally, the events awaiting us are horrifying.

(dramatic music) (speaking in foreign language)

- [Narrator] This is the end of the world,

it's judgment day.

We are told bluntly that Pope Francis will experience

judgment day along with us. (dramatic music)

- According to different

interpretations of the prophecy, Francis will become

the most famous Pope of all, the one who will be there

until the very end. (dramatic music)

- [Translator] For Malachy, Francis is the last pope.

- [Narrator] His Pontificate will therefore mark

the end of the countdown. (dramatic music)

- We're on the edge of an abyss, what will happen to us now?

- [Narrator] Should we believe it?

(gentle music)

Who's this mysterious Malachy of Armagh

and how did he foretell the end?

- [Translator] Malachy, originally Ua Morgair,

was born in a small town

in the north of Ireland in 1095.

During that period, although attached to Rome,

Ireland had managed to retain Celtic traditions.

Catholicism was gaining ground but was yet to be

the predominant religion. (angelic music)

He was appointed Bishop of Ireland by the Pope of the time,

pursued a lifelong career as a Benedictine,

and was very close to Bernard of Clairvaux.

(speaking in foreign language)

- As a young Catholic, St. Malachy climbed

the ecclesiastical ladder at considerable speed.

At 25 he was a priest, and he quickly became

Premat of Ireland and therefore, one of the first Catholics

of Ireland, one night in 1140, he experienced a vision.

But not just any vision, a vision of all the popes,

from Celestine the second in 1143,

to the very last, all in Latin verses.

(dramatic music)

- [Narrator] So why would we be interested in an obscure

text claimed to have been written by this 12th century

Irish Monk, in other words, can we trust St. Malachy?

- It is said that St. Malachy, as his contemporaries report,

had the gift of prophecy, but in his papers,

no trace of prophecies have ever been found.

(somber music)

- To find traces of the prophetic gift of St. Malachy,

one must get closer to his biography, written by his friend,

St. Bernard de Clairvaux. (somber ominous music)

- He points out that St. Malachy

is gifted with foresight, and that he even predicted

his own death. (ominous music)

- [Narrator] To the religious people who asked him where he

wished to die, the Irish monk replied at Clairvaux.

And when, on the day of the dead, the 2nd of November.

(ominous music)

The very same year,

in 1148, on his way to Rome, Malachy fell ill.

He stopped to see his friend, St. Bernard in Clairvaux.

And died on the 2nd of November.

But this is not enough to make Malachy a great prophet.

(speaking in foreign language)

- [Translator] The only way to believe in a prophet

is to witness proof of his prophecies.

(mysterious percussive music)

- [Narrator] Let's dive back into Malachy's list

of the 111 popes. (dramatic music)

First phrase, ex caftro Tiberis,

from the castle of the Tiber. (dramatic music)

Pope Celestine II was born in Citta di Castello,

the castle town formerly known as Tiphernum,

which has the same root as the word, tiber.

Second phrase, inimicus expulfus, the hunted enemy,

refers to Pope Lucius II who was driven out of Rome

by the Senate, the main enemy of the church at the time.

Third phrase, ex magnitudine motis.

For Montemagno, before becoming Pope, Eugene III

was called Bernardo Paganelli di Montemagno.

And it continues on like this.

(speaking in foreign language)

- [Translator] All the phrases make us dream,

they make us dream about the symbols

at the heart of the church.

- [Narrator] For nearly 900 years, the whole history

of the Papacy, seems to be written on these pieces of paper.

(ominous dramatic music)

The Benedictine monk, Arnold Wion, discovered and published

a prophetic text in the 16th century.

According to him, St. Malachy, a high-ranking religious man,

would have written this prophecy of the popes

in the 12th century, a credible prophecy

verified from conclave to conclave.

(dramatic music)

It was enough to attract the attention

of the church at the time, and even more today.

How could the Vatican have missed this text?

How does the Church react to the prediction

of its own destruction?

(dramatic music)

(uptempo music)

The Prophecy of the Popes is on everyone's lips.

(speaking in foreign language)

- [Tranlator] It's giving a voice

to the prophecy of Malachy.

- [Narrator] Announcing major upheaval,

the prophecy is now coming to an end.

But it is almost a miracle that the text ever reached us

in the first place. (somber music)

- [Translator] If indeed this prophecy did interfere

and bother the church, I think that since 1595,

the church would've wiped this text out from existence.

And would not have transmitted it until today,

at the Library of Lyon.

(speaking in foreign language)

(mysterious music)

- [Narrator] For the Church has never approved of anything

that remotely resembles a prophecy.

(speaking in foreign language)

- The Catholic Church is always very close

to the texts published about it.

Let alone a text on a canonized saint.

- At the time of the Prophecy of the Popes,

it was the great era of the index,

and of all that is prophecy.

Even Nostradamus was somewhat bothered.

(resonating ominous music)

- [Narrator] In some ways, the rejection of prophecies

is in Christianity's DNA.

- Prophecies are common in the Old Testament.

That's to say that one works only through prophecies.

This applies all the way to Christ who, for Christians,

is considered the last of the great prophets.

And this is why in the entire official history

of Catholicism, no prophecies have been recognized

as such, in essence, we have few prophecies,

very marginal ones at that, such as though written

by Nostradamus, for example, which are not recognized

by the Church, it's something that is more esoteric,

something that is more parallel.

This means we seldom have prophecy like this one,

which come from a Benedictine monk within the church.

That's why there's doubt around it.

- [Narrator] A prophecy that comes from

a member of the Church borders on heresy.

And yet, in a way, the appearance

of the Prophecy of the Popes came at the right time.

(dramatic music)

The text helped the church.

(speaking in foreign language)

- The simple thing was to clearly refute it and say,

listen, it's insane, anyone can interpret anything

from these phrases.

But I think that the Church

soon realized the value of such a prophecy

because it was a call for caution.

(dramatic music)

(speaking in foreign language)

It also stresses the importance

that a pope has on the evolution.

- [Narrator] At the time, when the Prophecy of the Popes

appeared, the church was struggling.

And above all, needed to be reassuring to the people.

- There was an interest in this prophecy from a number

of ecclesiastical members, especially from popes,

for several reasons.

First, because it appeared around the Renaissance

at a period devoted to esotericism.

(dramatic music)

(speaking in foreign language)

- The text came to light at the end of the 16th century,

because the world was in great turmoil with the protestants.

(speaking in foreign language)

They are the specter of the apocalypse,

constantly on the lips of every Christian

who saw the work of an anti-Christ everywhere.

So, in fact, this prophecy reassures everyone.

(speaking in foreign language)

- Even the church didn't reject this prophecy

from them, and then they provided them with a list

of their popes.

(dramatic ominous music)

- [Narrator] And for good reason.

St. Malachy announced 111 popes, when his prophecy

was published there were still close to 40 to come.

The future of the Papacy was secured via this list.

This would explain why the prophecy of the popes

was not ruled out at the time.

But what about today, what does the church

think of this text? (mysterious ominous music)

(speaking in foreign language)

- I've heard very little about it here.

It's considered as just another legend,

and doesn't fit with normal, and usual

analytical processes the church uses.

(speaking in foreign language)

- To imagine this text in church, not at all, not at all.

(ominous somber instrumental)

It's a very popular text because it provokes fantasies

and movies, basically it makes you dream.

But there's nothing much to it.

Condemning a text is giving it even stronger publicity,

so frankly, it's not worth it.

(speaking in foreign language)

- [Narrator] The Church, however, did not

hesitate to condemn the infamous novel,

the Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown,

the best-seller that sold over 90 million copies

was boycotted by churches all around the world.

- We're talking about the Da Vinci Code,

which has been read by millions of readers around

the world, it should be known that the Prefect

of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith

had issued awful statements saying no Catholic

should either read or see the film.

(speaking in foreign language)

(gentle piano music)

So how can the Vatican still turn it's back

on a prophecy announcing its own leader

as the last one to exist?

- [Translator] The Vatican doesn't talk about it officially

but it's very well known, universally known.

The Vatican is too cautious, too mindful,

to make itself the official spokesperson of such a text.

(speaking in foreign language)

Whereas now the prophecy could

well turn against them.

(dramatic music)

- [Narrator] Despite the silence from the Vatican

on the matter, many dignitaries of Rome,

including popes, believed in Malachy's text.

(speaking in foreign language)

- [Translator] After all, I believe that some popes

will believe in it completely, others not at all

for reasons of personal faith.

And some will use it politically.

(speaking in foreign language)

- [Narrator] The interwar Pope Pius XI made a passing

reference to Malachy in his Enciclica Mit brennender sorge.

He exhorts the faithful to, "Oppose the material strength

"of the oppressors of the Church

"with the intrepidity of a profound faith."

(dramatic choir music)

The phrase of Pope Pius XI in the prophecy mentions

the words, intrepid faith, since the 16th century,

a kind of game has emerged, an exchange of sorts

between the popes and the prophecy,

so much so that we do not know

whether it's the prophecy that predicts the future

of the Church, or whether it's the Church

walking in the footsteps of prophecy.

For example, in the 17th and 18th centuries,

several popes had their medals stamped

and engraved with their prophetic phrase.

- [Translator] The most striking example is John XXIII,

who on the day of his enthronement, quoted his predecessor

Pius XII using the Latin phrase of the prophecy of Malachy.

(ominous music)

- [Narrator] But today, there has not been so much as a word

from the representatives of the Church.

- [Translator] Silence is not an absence of communication.

Silence itself constitutes communication.

(pensive percussive music) (speaking in foreign language)

- [Narrator] It's via silence that the Church communicates

on the Prophecy of the Popes, neither refuted

nor recognized, the Vatican maintains

the mystery and fantasies around the prophecy

that could lead us all to our demise.

What if the Prophecy of the Popes

could still serve the Church?

What if St. Malachy had written

a prophetic and political text?

(dramatic music)

(gentle music)

While the Prophesy was published in 1595, it appeared

in the corridors of the Vatican five years earlier,

just before the conclave of 1590

that elected Pope Gregory XIV.

Probably not a coincidence. (ominous dramatic music)

- [Translator] I think that initially,

it is a political text.

Since it's prophetic and political,

it seeks to influence the conclave,

so there is something very political about it.

The monk in question did this to facilitate the election

of a pope so that it better corresponded to their phrase,

a form of political scheming, if you will.

I think there is, in the Roman Catholic Church,

certainly a sufficiently powerful order, enough to impose

on the various conclaves the realization of this prophecy.

(ominous piano music)

- [Narrator] Yet, the conclave attended

by the voting cardinals is extremely controlled

and regulated perfectly and has been for centuries.

Nowadays, as soon as the cardinals enter the Sistine Chapel,

telephone and internet signals are jammed,

and the shudders are closed.

Normally, the archbishops have complete freedom

as to how they vote, the Cardinal Archbishop of Lyon,

who voted at the last two conclaves, explains the process.

- [Translator] It's after the first vote

that we see how the votes are distributed.

(speaking in foreign language)

Many change their minds until the last minute,

so when they make their choice,

when they take the small ballot paper

and write the name of the one they chose,

then they continue down to the Sistine Chapel

by holding a ballot like this, and say a prayer.

A very beautiful prayer which could be valid

for any election, I take as a witness,

Jesus, who will judge me on the final day,

that the name I wrote is that, according to God,

I judge the most suitable to fulfill this function.

Which means, I did not vote for a friend.

I'm aware of the duty of the successor of the Pope,

and among us, the one that seems to be the most adept

to this job, that is why I wrote his name.

(somber music)

- [Narrator] It is just before the conclave

that the rules are far less strict.

Before voting, the cardinals are gathered

in order to have all the time necessary

to discuss and negotiate. (somber dramatic music)

- [Translator] People discuss everything they want,

voice their opinions on the current situation of the Church,

ask questions, share their intentions,

no one is forced to speak, someone can speak once, twice,

three times, there is a fair deal of freedom.

(ominous music) (speaking in foreign language)

- [Narrator] One or several cardinals

could therefore potentially influence the conclave.

It's difficult to confirm, but it's indeed possible.

(ominous music)

(gentle piano music)

Prophetic, political?

One thing is certain, the Prophecy of the Popes

has an important role to play.

And if one were to take into account

the political hypotheses, the Vatican itself

could have written the prophecy,

or asked for it to be written.

To find out, we must first ask

whether Malachy de Armagh really wrote this prophecy

or whether he was merely a figurehead.

(pensive instrumental music)

First, the Prophecy of the Popes was discovered 450 years

after its official creation, this arouses suspicion.

At that time, keeping an unpublished manuscript

was bordering on the impossible, furthermore,

this Prophecy of the Popes seems to predict the future

of the Church with a great deal of precision.

Too much detail.

Is it just too good to be true?

- [Translator] It's a strong theory

but the area of contention lies

in the attribution of this prophecy of the St. Malachy.

While in my opinion, is not the author.

(speaking in foreign language)

(ominous music)

- [Narrator] Today, most specialists agree on this.

- [Translator] Everything proves that Malachy

had never made a prophecy.

- I think that no one believes anymore

that St. Malachy wrote the prophecies himself,

I think it just doesn't hold up.

(dramatic music) (speaking in foreign language)

- [Narrator] Indeed, disturbing facts attest that the true

author of the Prophecy of the Popes is not Malachy.

This prophetic text would not have been written

in the 12th century but at least 400 years later.

How do we know?

Because the true author of the Prophecy of the Popes

was a tracer. (dramatic music)

- [Translator] The author of the prophecy

is inevitably someone who worked on a particular edition

of a book on popes.

His name is Onofrio Panvinio,

and published his work in 1557.

(gentle orchestral music) (speaking in foreign language)

- [Narrator] An Italian historian, Onofrio Panvinio

published in 1557, a book called

A Brief History of Sovereign Pontiffs.

In which he wrote a biographical record of each pope.

However, the historian made a few mistakes.

(gentle music)

- [Translator] The author of this prophecy

repeated the same errors.

(dramatic music)

- [Narrator] For example, in Panvinio's book published

in 1557, Pope Eugene IV is said to have belonged

to the order of the Celestines.

A characteristic taken up by the author

of the Prophecy of the Popes.

The phrase of Eugene IV is the Celestine she-wolf.

The problem is that Eugene IV was not a Celestine.

He was an Augustine.

Second example, in the Prophecy of the Popes,

the phrase attributed to John XXII as the Cobbler of Ossa.

And this pope was born in the city of Ossa.

But John XXII was not the son of a shoemaker,

but the son of a banker.

It's an error that can be found again

in the work of Onofrio Panvinio.

At school, when the two students make the same mistakes,

it's that they've copied one another.

The author of the Prophecy of the Popes,

copied from the book of the Italian historian.

(speaking in foreign language)

- [Translator] So this proves that this prophecy

was written after 1557.

- [Narrator] Then why did the author not sign his text?

Why attribute it to an Irish monk who later became a saint?

(dramatic orchestral music)

- [Translator] Ireland was a country known

for its prophecies and mysteries,

and being somewhat representative

of the occult-side of the Catholic Church.

It's attributed to Malachy, as many Christians do,

Gospels are very often attributed to people

who have not written them, it's possible

that John was not the author of the fourth gospel,

but that it was attributed to John.

This applies to all the apocryphal gospels.

Take the attribution of the Gospel of Judah.

It's known that this gospel was written

in the 2nd century and that Judah had long since died.

But it's none the less attributed to him.

To give power and weight to a text, one simply claims

a famous character from past as his author.

So it's fairly likely that this text was invented

in the 16th century, and attributed

to a 12th century monk to give it more authority.

The text has more potency if it's attributed to St. Malachy

than to Arnold Wyon.

(dramatic music)

- [Narrator] Might it be possible that Arnold Wion

did not discover this text?

Did he write it himself or did he order another prophet

to write it before attributing it to an Irish saint?

If the Prophecy of the Popes

was not written in the 12th century but at the end

of the 16th century, it's unsurprising

that the first phrases correspond to the popes.

(dramatic music)

- [Translator] If we can say beyond a reasonable doubt

that all the prophecies from 1140 to 1585,

date from the knowledge of a certain number

of invented texts, how do we explain those written

after the text was published already?

(dramatic music) (speaking in foreign language)

(ominous music)

Curiously, certain phrases fit very well with the popes

who followed in the 16th, 17th, 18th, 19th,

and even 20th century.

(somber music) (speaking in foreign language)

- [Narrator] Let's check these claims.

(uptempo instrumental music) Pius VI became pope

in 1776, almost two centuries

after the publication of Prophecy, his phrase

in the prophecy is peregrinis apoftolics,

the apostolic traveler. (ominous music)

It's true that Pope Pius VI had made several trips abroad.

Not very convincing evidence, except when you consider that

before him, no pope had left Italy for several centuries.

Innocent X was elected pope in 1644 on the 14th

of September, the day of the exultation of the cross.

His phrase, lucunditas crucis,

translates as the joy of the cross.

Let's take the 100th phrase, de balneis Ethruriae,

from Balnes, in Etruria, where first was Gregory XVI,

who belonged to the order of the Camaldus,

founded by Saint Remoulade in Etruria.

Vrfus uelox, the swift bear, alludes to Pope Clementine XIV

who had a racing bear as a family symbol.

In recent history, the Prophecy of the Pope

remains just as pertinent. (dramatic music)

- [Narrator] For instance, there is a phrase that mentions

a deep hotbed of religion which, when you think about it,

clearly corresponds to the World War I, fascinating.

Religio depopulata is the phrase attributed

to Benedict XV, Pope from 1914-1922.

(dramatic music)

The first World War caused millions of deaths

throughout Europe, 1922 saw the publication of the census

of the victims of the Great War.

Officializing the religio depopulata.

(dramatic music)

In an even more recent example, Pope John Paul I

was referenced to in the Prophecy of the Popes

by the phrase of half the moon.

- [Translator] His reign was very short, 33 days of which,

the seventh moon, the middle moon,

any year of 13 moons. (dramatic music)

- [Narrator] In astrology, the year 1978 included 13 moons.

It was at the halfway point of this astrological year

that Pope John Paul I died, making him medierate lunae.

A particularly troubling phrase

from an astrological point of view,

a phrase that could well lead us to the

identification of the real author of this obscure text.

(ominous music)

(dramatic music)

The Prophecy of the Popes is thus surrounded

by a persistent shadow of doubt.

Was it written in the 12th or the 16th century?

We're dealing with a text

that is both prophetic and political.

Finally, little is known of this mysterious,

yet credible prophecy, many questions arise.

Who is the true author of the prophecy?

By ruling out St. Malachy, who else could've done it?

Did Arnold Wion lie by claiming to have found this text?

Could he have ordered someone?

What if the Church had ordered the writing of this list?

(dramatic music)

Who can have written the Prophecy of the Popes?

(solemn music)

One theory concerning the author of the Prophecy

of the Popes stands out, according to several specialists,

the author would be a well-known prophet

who lived, indeed, during the 16th century,

since he copied the errors of a book published in 1557.

A prophet interested in the sovereign pontiffs

in the Catholic Church, and as certain phrases suggest,

a prophet devoted to astrology.

Let's not forget that this mysterious author

must have been recognized and have proven himself

during his lifetime.

- [Translator] Only one person fits this description

and his name is Michelle d'Notre Dame,

also known as Nostradamus.

- I believe that Nostradamus is the real creator

of this list of Popes.

(dramatic music) (speaking in foreign language)

- [Narrator] What evidence is there

to reach this conclusion?

First of all, Arnold Wion and Nostradamus

lived at the same time in the 16th century.

They were both born in the south of France.

Arnold Wion could have found the writings of Nostradmus,

a recognized prophet, perhaps even the most famous

in the world apart from those evoked

in the Bible or the Quran. (dramatic music)

But in the 16th century, the Church kept a close eye

on the prophet, so he could've written the Prophecy

of the Popes without claiming it as his own.

Another strong argument for Nostradamus,

his preferred subjects.

(speaking in foreign language)

- [Translator] One of the main subjects

of the quatrains of Nostradamus

is that firstly, the Church, there are also kingdoms,

presidents, and other large institutions.

These are some of the subjects we find in Nostradamus.

(dramatic music) (speaking in foreign language)

- [Narrator] Nostradamus is also fond of astrology.

- [Translator] Nostradamus uses astrology as dating system.

He himself said that he had focused on astrological data

as a basis for his prophecies.

(dramatic music) (speaking in foreign language)

- Other arguments still lead to Nostradamus,

passionate about coding and numbers,

he was known to play with his readers.

- [Translator] To understand the prophecies,

we must mention numbers since there are 111 phrases.

This number is the decomposition

of the letter aleph in Hebrew,

for my part, I would attribute the definitive creation

of the text as someone who knew of the existence

and the content of the kabbalah.

(ominous pensive music)

- [Narrator] Again, this corresponds to Nostradamus.

(speaking in foreign language)

- [Translator] He was born in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence

in 1503 of Jewish ancestry.

His grandparents had converted to Catholicism

but continued to study ancient texts

in Greek, Latin, Hebrew, and many other languages.

(dramatic pensive music)

- [Narrator] But are the prophecies

claimed by Nostradamus equal to those

in the Prophecy of the Popes?

Here are his famous Centuries, published in 1555.

The Centuries is a set of 100 prophetic quatrains.

And upon closer reading,

we pick up on disturbing hidden meanings.

(dramatic music)

In the 20th quatrain of the ninth century,

Nostradamus talks of a man who came to Va Ren

during the night, vaultorte, Herne, and the white stone.

A man who brought with him storms, fire, and blood.

On the 21st of June, 1791, Louis XVI fled

to escape the revolutionaries.

After passing through vaultorte, Herne, and the white stone,

he was arrested in Va Ren, the revolutionary storm

had caught up with him and promptly sent him

to the guillotine, almost 250 years before the events,

this quatrain of Nostradamus gives the names

of the four places Louis XVI

passed through this frightful night.

(dramatic ominous music)

But that's not all.

- [Translator] There are other passages

in the Prophecy of Nostradamus

that are fulfilled, such as the foretelling

of the death of King Henry II of France

in a jousting accident from an eye injury.

(speaking in foreign language)

- [Narrator] This famous quatrain appeared in 1555,

The young lion will overcome the older one.

On the field of combat, in a single battle,

he will pierce his eyes through a golden cage.

Two wounds made one, then he dies a cruel death.

(gentle music)

Four years after its publication, on June 30th, 1559,

Henry II, King of France, participated in a joust.

A friendly dual at the double marriage

of his daughter, Elizabeth and his sister, Margarite.

Henry II confronted the young Count of Montgomery,

whose arms boasted a lion, the two lions wielded

their lances, and upon impact, Montgomery's spear snapped,

projecting a shard of wood straight

into the eye of Henry II,

who had lifted the visor of his golden helmet.

A few days later, the King died having succumb

to his injury. (dramatic music)

(speaking in foreign language)

- Translator] People are saying that Nostradamus was a joke.

What he said was bogus, it's wrong.

Nostradamus must be taken seriously.

(uptempo dramatic music)

- If Nostradamus actually wrote the Prophecy of the Popes,

this might strengthen this text and its final omen,

but is he really the author?

Opinions defer on the matter. (dramatic music)

- [Translator] No, I don't think

he would've gone about it that way.

He would've written long sentences, long phrases

with profound symbolism, in the Prophecy,

there are very few phrases that are long.

(speaking in foreign language)

Then who else could be the author

of the Prophecy of the Popes?

(speaking in foreign language)

- It goes without saying that we readily question

the origin of the author who wrote this prophecy.

And Arnold Wion was obviously part

of those who could have written it.

- [Translator] I think it's the Benedictine monk,

I think it's Arnold Wion.

(speaking in foreign language)

- [Narrator] Nostradamus, Wion, a prophet, or a monk?

Either of these two could have written

the Prophecy of the Popes, which one?

The answer to the secret disappeared

over the last few centuries. (dramatic music)

- [Translator] The Malachy prophecy, really,

who cares about the author?

What is important is the phrases.

- The main question remains to be ask,

who benefits from the crime?

(dramatic music)

- [Narrator] The Prophecy of the Popes

is therefore not only a legend invented

to announce the end of the world, but also a powerful tool

that will lead the Church and its institutions

towards a brutal and final change.

A text which could have been written

in order to influence various conclaves.

(speaking in foreign language)

- [Translator] It's true that every time a pope dies,

and another is elected, we speak of the prophecy of Malachy.

Funny, don't you think? (dramatic music)

- [Narrator] The actions of the popes themselves

seem to be guided by prophecy.

(speaking in foreign language)

- [Translator] You can see that with the Prophecy

of Malachy, many popes have used and cited its phrases.

(dramatic music)

- [Narrator] There is a man of the 20th century

who was undoubtedly the most representative

of the prophecy within the Church.

This man is Pope John XXIII.

While rumor said he was a Freemason,

the illustrious unknown bishop was elected

only after the third round of the conclave of 1958,

and undertook the renewal of the Church,

a renewal which would be inscribed

in the application of the last paragraph of the prophecy.

A renewal called the Second Vatican Counsel.

(speaking in foreign language)

- [Translator] Pope John XXIII

almost prophetically, won the Second Vatican Counsel.

And finished by formally opening it.

- [Narrator] Vatican II is still a topical issue,

and would have led the Church

towards the end of the Papacy.

But not only did John XXIII put into action

the Prophecy of the Popes, he himself

was a powerful prophet recognized by the Church.

- [Translator] I believe Pope John XXIII was a prophet.

(dramatic music)

- [Narrator] According to him,

the final judgment was imminent.

Who is this man whom even Pope Francis

wished to be canonized urgently upon his arrival?

(ominous music)

(gentle music)

In 1973, Pier Carpi, a famous Italian contemporary author

published the book, Prophecies of John XXIII.

In which he claims that Angelo Roncalli,

the future Pope John XXIII,

had also predicted the final judgment.

In addition to using phrases from the Prophecy of the Popes,

John XXIII was prone to having visions.

(speaking in foreign language)

- [Translator] I believe he was a prophet.

John XXIII was filled with kindness, a prophetic man.

(speaking in foreign language)

(dramatic music)

- [Narrator] In his prophecies,

he addressed many themes such as Communism,

Nazism, and especially the Papacy.

Like the Prophecy of the Popes, John XXIII himself

predicted several pontificates.

In an eighth prophecy, written in 1935,

Angelo Roncalli announced a pope,

and among the details he gives,

some are particularly explicit.

He will be elected in a period when Italy

is marked by blood, Rome in bloody days.

(dramatic choir music)

This pope will also have a privileged connection

with young Catholics. (crowd yelling)

It will be the young people who will praise you.

This pope will be wounded but the wound will heal.

Your only wound will heal.

(dramatic music)

This corresponds to a well-known pontiff, Pope John Paul II.

Elected in 1978, in the midst of the Years of Lead

in Italy, John Paul II created World Youth Day.

(crowd cheering)

John Paul II was also

a victim of an attack in 1981.

(frantic music)

(screaming)

From which, he pulled through.

(ominous music)

(dramatic music)

Pope John XXIII announced the fate

of Pope John Paul II

43 years before his arrival, the credibility

of his prophecies is put into question.

But then what does he think of the 20th prophecy

of John XXIII, he sees the apocalypse

and a very dark period for Italy, and the whole of Europe.

Pope John XXIII called for a third Italy,

a prediction which may seem innocuous at first,

but which is in fact, rich in meaning.

(speaking in foreign language)

- [Translator] For Pope John XXIII,

in his prophecies, he announced the third Italy,

that is to say, after Roman Italy,

the Roman republic, and after Catholic Italy,

he announced the third Italy, a new Italy,

after a very difficult period.

(speaking in foreign language)

- [Narrator] A third Italy after Catholic Italy,

the omen is clear.

It is the end of the Papacy, if not the end of the world.

(ominous music)

The Prophecy of the Popes, and the Prophecy of John XXIII

are already too closely related,

and particularly credible texts

that announce the end of Rome, and worse, of the world.

Pope John XXIII, in addition

to having deliberately cited the Prophecy

of the Pope during this pontificate, experienced visions,

how can the Church accept such an outrage?

And here again, as for the Prophecy of the Popes,

the Vatican is not concerned by it, officially.

(uptempo dramatic music)

- [Translator] We're happy to study the numerous texts

published by the popes, both by John XXIII

and by the others.

Unfortunately, I don't have much to say

about the texts of John XXIII.

(ominous piano music)

- [Narrator] It is difficult to believe

that the writings of the Pope went unnoticed in Rome.

The Church will never condemn the text but will go so far

as to canonize Pope John XXIII,

and in an exceptional way.

- [Translator] It's surprising that

we could've successively made two canonizations.

- [Narrator] Specialists of the prophecy often ask

how it's possible not to recognize what Pope John XXIII

had done, said, and written.

April 27th, 2014, St. Peter Square, Vatican City.

800,000 pilgrims from all over the world

attend an extraordinary event, for the first time

in the history of the Church, two popes

were to be canonized, that is, declared holy

and at the same time, still more surprisingly,

this double canonization took place

in the presence of two other popes, the current Pope Francis

and Pope Benedict XVI, Pope Emeritus.

Very quickly the event was nicknamed

the Day of the Four Popes.

(speaking in foreign language)

- [Translator] Never had the Roman Catholic Church

experienced anything of this sort, we're talking about

an absolute breath-taking event.

The fact that Pope Francis chose these two popes

is a very strong indication of the path being continued.

(speaking in foreign language)

There is a text, one of the two prophecies

out of the 32 which explains that the Catholic Church

is going to abandon itself with two heads,

and one mother, mother of the Church, two heads,

two emperors, Benedict XVI, and his renunciation,

and Pope Francis, who was elected.

(speaking in foreign language)

(dramatic music)

- [Narrator] What then was the message

that Francis wanted to convey to the whole world?

Pope John XXIII prophesied the arrival of John Paul II,

he understood the Second Vatican Counsel,

which entailed the end of the Papacy.

John Paul II applied it, it was almost obvious

that these two popes had to be canonized together.

- [Translator] Did Francis want to pay tribute

to the Second Vatican Counsel?

Yes, I'm convinced because we need Vatican II.

Is it attributed to Vatican II?

Yes, it can be interpreted that way.

As Vatican II was opened by John XXIII.

(dramatic music) (speaking in foreign language)

And these predecessors sought not to go behind it

but at least to perpetuate it.

(dramatic music)

- [Narrator] This theory holds up

since Francis also beatified Pope Paul VI

on October 19th, 2014, Pope from 1963-1978,

it was he who concluded Vatican II.

(speaking in foreign language)

- [Translator] Pope Paul VI was also Vatican II,

it was Paul VI who took over Vatican II and finished it.

(dramatic music) (speaking in foreign language)

- [Narrator] Vatican II is the most significant event

in the history of the Church in the 20th century.

It is a counsel, an assembly of bishops

from all over the world, gathered to debate the direction

to be taken by the Catholic Church.

Vatican II symbolizes the opening to the modern world,

and the return to the roots of Christianity.

In short, a simpler Church for a complex area.

And if it is indeed the case, and that Pope John XXIII open

this counsel in 1962, Pope John Paul II subscribed to it.

(dramatic music) (speaking in foreign language)

- [Translator] Pope John XXIII

wanted, in an almost prophetic way,

the second Vatican counsel and initiated it.

John Paul II, on the other hand,

was one of the founding fathers of the counsel.

It's very interesting. (gentle music)

(speaking in foreign language)

He was the man that life had led to dialog with the world.

Always following in the footsteps

of the Second Vatican Counsel.

(speaking in foreign language)

- [Narrator] Of Vatican II, that might represent

John XXIII's answer to his own visions,

but also to the Prophecy of the Popes.

- [Translator] I still call Vatican II a rebirth

of the Church, an awakening, an awakening of the Church.

- [Narrator] The mission of Vatican II

would seem to be to save the destiny of the Church.

(dramatic music)

The prophecy is coming to an end.

This is the end of the prophecy.

The church must increase its efforts

if it wants to diffuse

the Prophecy of the Popes. (dramatic music)

- [Translator] We're in the 21st century,

the Church will not survive 2,000 years

if it founded on the same foundations as the past centuries.

You'll see we'll have a few surprises,

I'm not a bird of ill omen, people know very well

that there was a downward spiral.

(dramatic music) (speaking in foreign language)

- [Narrator] And Francis, the last Pope,

could well be the one.

Since his election, the sovereign pontiff

has accumulated references to the Prophecy of the Popes.

- [Translator] Even Pope Francis says

we must return to essential values.

He says it because he knows very well

that everything is crumbling down.

He feels that he sees it. (dramatic music)

- [Narrator] One only needs to listen to his first words,

and study his first acts, to understand

that the Prophecy of the Popes

is present in the Vatican. (dramatic music)

- [Translator] The surprise for all of us

was going to the tomb

of Pope Sixtus V, for what reason?

- [Narrator] Pope Sixtus V is the only pope

thanks to whom we can date the end of the prophecy.

And Pope Benedict XVI would have also

precipitated the destiny of Pope Francis.

(dramatic music)

- [Translator] The prophecy is very precise,

a well-oiled machine.

- [Narrator] The Pope emeritus

would have triggered the final countdown

in full knowledge of effects. (dramatic music)

(ominous music)

(gentle music)

(speaking in foreign language)

- Pope Benedict XVI

is referenced by the Prophecy of the Popes

as gloria oliuae, the glory of the olive tree.

The 111th phrase holds a prominent place

in the list of the last popes because after him,

no more exist, there remains only the final sending,

the last apocalyptic paragraph of the prophecy.

"In the final persecution of the Holy Roman Church,

"there will sit Peter the Roman,

"who will pasture his sheep in many tribulations.

"And when these things are finished,

"the city of seven hills will be destroyed,

"and the dreadful judge will judge his people, the end."

(dramatic ominous choir)

The paragraph announcing

this Petrus Romanus is different from the 111 phrases.

The structure of the text is broken, and as if to stick

to the prophecy, Benedict XVI created this rupture.

(dramatic ominous choir)

February 11th, 2013, a bombshell hit the Vatican.

The Pope announced to the faithful

that he would voluntarily step down from his position.

(crowd cheering)

(speaking in foreign language)

- [Translator] Thank you for your sympathy.

I have decided to resign from the position

that the Lord entrusted to me since April 19th, 2005.

- It's fascinating, there are 111 phrases,

and we get to the last one, Pope Benedict XVI,

he goes on to abdicate.

If he was on the 108th, on the list,

it wouldn't have impressed me as much.

We would've said, you know, he's renounced

because there's another pope, et cetera.

But in this case, it's written of Lignum Vitae.

Instead of someone dying a physical death,

we've got someone who's withdrawn from office.

(speaking in foreign language)

- [Narrator] By resigning, Pope Benedict XVI

allowed the prophecy to come to an end.

And led his successor on the path to the apocalypse.

(speaking in foreign language)

- [Translator] Two words, extra,

ordinary, absolutely extraordinary.

This is the first time in the history

of the Roman Catholic Church that a living pope

renounced his office outside of Papal wars.

(speaking in foreign language) (crowd applauding)

Benedict XVI chose to resign not on a random day.

His resignation was effective not on the day he announced it

but on the 28th of February, the day of St. Romanus

of Condat, on that day, Peter's seat will be vacant.

(speaking in foreign language)

Pope Benedict XVI's resignation

is such an extraordinary event.

It is almost an insult to the Roman curiae,

and to all that is happening right now in the Papacy.

Definitely a separation.

(dramatic music)

- [Narrator] A separation that the Pope's

communication department still have trouble swallowing.

- [Translator] You can't even imagine

what happened to us that day.

It was a holiday. (ominous dramatic music)

The anniversary of the States of the Vatican,

the 11th of February,

all the offices were closed.

And ours too. (ominous dramatic music)

A journalist called me and asked me

whether the Pope had really resigned.

(dramatic music)

And I didn't even know.

(speaking in foreign language)

- [Narrator] It was a huge surprise within the Church.

The renunciation of Benedict XVI

was a surprise, a dazzling surprise.

- [Translator] I wasn't expecting it

since I had only seen him

a little beforehand, I found him very, very alert,

and attentive, we had a very nice discussion

with all the bishops of our province.

We had all come to pay him a visit and I said to myself,

he's in good form for a man of 85 years old.

Shortly after, he resigned, so yes, it did surprise me.

(ominous dramatic music)

- [Narrator] Again, it is difficult

to know whether it is the Prophecy of the Popes

that predicted the future, or whether it influenced it.

Did Pope Benedict XVI renounce on the 28th of February,

the day of the Romanus of Condat?

To leave his place to the chosen one,

to the savior, to Peter the Roman?

(dramatic music)

Was Benedict XVI merely a transitional pope?

(speaking in foreign language)

- [Translator] I believe that the cardinals in the conclave

who elected John Paul II's successor,

Pope Benedict XVI, probably elected, and of course,

I have no proof, a transitional pope.

- [Translator] I find that Pope Benedict XVI

perfectly fulfilled his transitional role

after such a wildly popular pope.

(ominous music)

- [Narrator] Benedict XVI a transitional pope?

Maybe, rumors suggest that the conclave that elected him

in 2005, Jorge Mario Bergoglio, the future Pope Francis,

was the one who received the most votes.

- [Translator] It's said that the conclave

where Joseph Ratzinger was elected as Pope Benedict XVI,

people were thinking about Bergoglio,

the Argentinian, it's mostly speculation

but maybe, he didn't feel ready yet.

- [Translator] I think Pope Francis' arrival is good timing.

I think it would've been too early

if he'd been elected instead of Pope Benedict XVI.

I believe there is a time for everything.

(dramatic ominous music) (speaking in foreign language)

- [Narrator] Once again, the history of the Church

appears to have been written

centuries ago in the Prophecy of the Popes.

- [Translator] The prophecy is very precise,

like a well-oiled machine,

successive conclaves have only one goal,

to make the prophecy come true, one way or another.

(dramatic music)

- [Narrator] Will Pope Francis,

the first Jesuit in the history of the Papacy,

witness the end of the world and be the last Pope?

(ominous music)

Tuesday, March 12th, 2013, the cardinals reunited

in conclave, their mission, to elect a new pope.

According to the prophecy, this sovereign pontiff

would be the first to have no phrase assigned to him.

The church, therefore, making a great leap into the unknown.

After two days of indecisive black smoke,

white smoke announced

to the whole world that the Church had a new pope.

(gentle music)

(crowd chattering)

(speaking in foreign language)

(crowd cheering)

The bells of Rome resonated, spreading the news

throughout the city and across the world.

(bells chiming) (crowds cheering)

After five rounds of voting, the Argentine cardinal,

Jorge Mario Bergoglio, had reached

the pinnacle of Vatican power.

In St. Peter's square, hundreds of thousands

of faithful followers discovered the face

and voice of their new guide.

(crowd cheering)

- [Translator] Brothers and sisters, good evening.

- [Narrator] As foretold by the prophecy,

is he the last pope

in the history of the Catholic Church?

The one who will witness the destruction of Rome?

(gentle music)

(speaking in foreign language)

- [Translator] Let us pray for everyone

because we are a great brotherhood.

- [Narrator] Is Francis conscious and prepared

for the terrible sins of the Prophecy of the Popes?

Some troubling parts suggest that this could be the case.

First of all, that evening, Pope Francis asked the crowd

for a particularly surprising prayer,

a prayer that had never been asked by any pope before him.

Very powerful words broadcasted world-wide on television.

(speaking in foreign language)

- [Translator] And now I would like to give a blessing,

but first, I want to ask you a favor,

before the bishop blesses the people,

I ask that you would pray to the Lord to bless me,

the prayer of the people for their bishop.

(crowds cheering)

Let us say this prayer,

your prayer for me, in silence.

(ominous music)

- [Narrator] A request that he also put on Twitter,

causing a buzz on the web and making

the Prophecy of the Popes a hot topic once again.

- [Translator] The first thing he asked the crowd

was pray for me.

We thought he was going to ask us to pray for us,

seeing the world of chaos in which we live in,

but no, it was, pray for me, he might be aware

of the terrible burden he's been given.

And is worried about the prophecy

because at each conclave, the prophecy is fulfilled.

(speaking in foreign language)

- [Narrator] Although this sentence

is subject to different interpretations, it remains unclear.

Secondly, Pope Francis does not have the usual profile.

Is it by chance that he became the first Jesuit

elected at the head of the Church?

The new pontiff seems to be all set to fulfill the prophecy.

The Jesuits are known for their austerity,

far-removed from the glittering

and opulent image shown off by the Vatican.

Right from the start, by the choice of his name,

the newly elected Pope seems to want to put the church

back on the right path. (gentle music)

(speaking in foreign language)

- [Translator] Francis is a man of peace,

and this is how the name came

into my heart, Francis of Assisi.

He is, for me, a man of poverty, a man who loved

and protected creation. (crowds cheering)

At this very moment, are experiencing a difficult

relationship with creation,

this man gives me the spirit of peace.

(speaking in foreign language)

How I would love a church that is poor and for the poor.

(speaking in foreign language)

(crowd applauding)

- [Narrator] A humble pope,

who washes the feet of prisoners,

who refuses to live in the Pontifical apartment,

who wears more discreet outfits than his predecessors.

(crowds cheering)

The first messages sent by the new pope are clear,

there is going to be change in Rome,

and the extreme ostentation of the Vatican

may be living its final days.

If the prophecy is to be believed, these drastic changes

could go as far as the role of the pope itself.

(crowd cheering)

Thus, the first words of Pope Francis

seem to fall in line with the prophecy of the Popes.

- [Translator] He presented himself as the Bishop of Rome.

The first thing he said on the balcony of St. Peter's Square

was I am the Bishop of Rome, which, by the way,

is true since Pope Francis, before becoming the Pope,

was the Bishop of Rome, but it's surprising

that this was the first thing he said,

some have pointed out that this was a way

of actually connecting the prophecy of Malachy

and conveying the Roman aspect of the Pope.

(speaking in foreign language)

Even Pope Francis says we must return to essential values.

He says it because he knows very well that everything

is crumbling down, he feels it, he sees it.

(somber ominous music)

- [Narrator] The third element

to making Francis the last link in prophecy is an act,

his first official visit.

(dramatic music)

Thursday, March 14th, 2014.

Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore,

Pope Francis chose this location

for his first visit, officially.

He comes here to pray for the Virgin Mary.

The basilica is indeed linked to the Virgin.

Pope Francis took a few minutes to kneel

before the statue of the Mother of Christ.

(singing in foreign language)

But once again, the man in power

seemed to hint at the Prophecy of the Popes.

After praying for the Virgin Mary,

he made his way to another chapel of the basilica.

Pope Francis then kneeled down, facing a mysterious tomb.

(dramatic music)

(speaking in foreign language)

- [Translator] The surprise was going

to the tomb of Pope Sixtus V.

(dramatic music)

- [Narrator] The pope, who allowed us to date

the prophecy rested right there,

right before Pope Francis.

The phrase attributed to Sixtus V

is axis in medietate figni, axel in the midst of a sign.

The word sign often denotes a prophecy.

The pontificate of Sixtus V was at the halfway point

of the Prophecy of the Popes.

Is it therefore thanks to him that

it is possible to date the end?

So why come here and on his first visit?

Did Francis know that the prophecy was soon to end?

Was he praying to save the Papacy, to save Rome?

To fulfill the prophecy?

Is Francis really the last pope?

(ominous music)

According to an oral tradition passed down onto us,

the text published in 1595, is incomplete,

and is missing a phrase.

(speaking in foreign language)

- [Translator] There's not only the text

of the Prophecy of the Popes that has come to us,

throughout the centuries,

an oral tradition says that there is an additional phrase.

According to this oral transmission,

St. Malachy returned to Rome, and following his vision,

and inspiration, added a last pope

that the text calls Caput Negrum.

This is what reached us, a written tradition,

and an oral tradition, that has added a pope

called Caput Negrum.

(speaking in foreign language)

(gentle music)

- [Narrator] Caput Negrum, black leader.

According to this oral tradition,

the phrase caput negrum, is supposed to take its place

between Gloria oliuae, Pope Benedict XVI,

and the final sending of the text.

(dramatic music)

In this case, Pope Francis is the famous caput negrum.

A black pope, who also evokes Nostradamus

in his famous Centuries. (uptempo music)

In many of his quatrains, Rome and Italy are targeted.

One particular quatrain, the 25th of the 6th century

talks of a strange character who must fight the anti-Christ.

In these troubled times of the Church,

a young, black, red will lead the hierarchy.

A red, for Nostradamus, means a cardinal,

and a black, a Jesuit.

If one leads the hierarchy, it is that he becomes Pope.

So, in essence, he prophesied the emergence

of a black pope in a doomsday context.

Francis was the only Jesuit present at the conclave.

Francis is indeed the black pope

whom everybody is speaking about.

So, is he the last or the second-to-last pope, caput negrum?

(gentle music)

- [Translator] Who was elected?

A Jesuit, the pope of the Jesuits is a general.

And this general of the Jesuits is a black pope.

There's something going on here.

And knowing that the Church

is surrounded by mysterious events,

it would make sense for us to be interested in this.

(speaking in foreign language)

It wouldn't be unreasonable to think that Francis

can be that very Peter the Roman.

(dramatic music) - Should we believe

in the existence of this missing phrase?

One thing is certain, the fact that Francis is a Jesuit

is the key element that makes him the ideal candidate

to either disprove or fulfill the prophecy.

(dramatic music)

(speaking in foreign language)

He's a man of great discernment and foresight.

[Translator] A man who's self-demanding nature

is as great as his kindness, a pope who does not settle

for just public speaking, but a pope who acts.

(dramatic music)

- [Narrator] Everything leads us

to believe that Francis is considered a savior.

But how can we be certain? (crowds cheering)

Let's take a look again at the facts.

Pope Francis embarked on spectacular reform programs

in the media, finance, the curiae, all areas

seem to have been targeted.

(speaking in foreign language)

- [Translator] In fact, he's a reformist

while not appearing to be.

I prefer not to use the word reformer

but rather, re-organizer. (ominous epic choir)

- [Narrator] And the most significant reform

is that of the curiae, Pope Francis

appointed eight cardinals to help him fulfill his mission,

the so-called G8.

- [Translator] The current system of the Vatican

is entirely pyramidal, and is steeped in history,

although the structure dates back only a few centuries,

it is still today, an absolute monarchy,

and Pope Francis clearly wants to change that.

(dramatic music)

- [Narrator] It's in the spirit

of the Prophecy of the Popes, that Francis

has renounced his powers as Pope.

- [Translator] There's no more final infallible decision.

Now, when you have eight people who represent

the eight regions of the world, the message you say

is no longer the word of a king or a pope.

It is a shared message, it's the arrival

of an almost democratic process inside the Vatican.

This is the end of the Vatican.

- [Narrator] Has Francis undertaken his reform initiatives

to save the church from its miserable fate?

Or was it to fulfill the prophecy?

Is he one of the last popes? (dramatic music)

To answer this question, we might find our answer

not from the secrecy of Vatican men, but from the walls

that cloister them, Rome.

St. Paul's Basilica outside the walls.

One of the four major basilicas of the City of Seven Hills.

More than 1,500 years ago, this site was a location

of a Christian edifice, where the apostle Paul was buried.

But it is also part of a very symbolic ritual

for the Vatican. (dramatic music)

Inside the building, a frieze represents all the popes

of history from St. Peter to the present day.

In gilded medallions, a mosaic portrait depicts

each sovereign pontiff, and the dates of his pontificate.

Abbot Edmund Power, in charge of this basilica,

was kind enough to tell us about it.

(speaking in foreign language)

- [Translator] Inside the basilica of St. Paul,

we have a series of mosaic medallions

for all the popes throughout history.

The first is that of St. Peter.

(speaking in foreign language)

And the last is that of Pope Francis.

And as Pope Francis is the current sovereign pontiff,

his medallion is illuminated by a light.

(dramatic music)

- [Narrator] The most recent portrait

is obviously that of Francis, and the Church,

who follows the Prophecy of the Popes to a T,

may have already foreseen the end of the Papacy.

(speaking in foreign language)

- [Translator] It is said that when all places are taken,

then it will be the end of the world.

(dramatic music)

- [Narrator] Pope Benedict XVI,

Pope Francis, the Vatican, and the city of Rome,

everybody seems to know that the Papacy is about to end.

(speaking in foreign language)

- [Translator] The Catholic Church no longer

has the influence it used to have.

(speaking in foreign language)

Is it possible to consider the end of the Papacy

if this prophecy were to come to and end?

(dramatic music)

- [Narrator] How can the Prophecy of the Popes

have guided the destiny of the church for centuries?

Is it as if the Vatican was subject

to a truly inescapable divine countdown?

Will the Prophecy of the Popes come to an end?

(dramatic music)

- [Translator] This is the end of the prophecy.

- [Narrator] Is Francis the last of the popes?

Should we prepare for the apocalypse?

- [Translator] The prophecy is not a crystal ball,

it's a spirit.

- [Narrator] So, what's going to happen?

Will the countdown soon come to an end?

(ominous music)

The Prophecy of the Popes is an arid text.

A succession of small sentences.

No names, no numbers, no dates.

(speaking in foreign language)

- [Translator] The prophetic text are encrypted,

indecipherable, at the right moment,

which is absolutely mind-boggling.

(dramatic music)

- [Narrator] Several specialists

believe that the Prophecy of the Popes

does not escape this rule.

- [Translator] There is a passage in the prophecy

of St. Malachy which ultimately

indicates the middle of the prophecy.

- [Narrator] This passage is the phrase,

axis in medietate figni,

axel in the midst of a sign, attributed to Pope Sixtus V.

The first phrase of the Prophecy of the Popes

corresponds to Pope Celestine II, elected in 1143.

Sixtus V became pope in 1585, 442 years later.

If this marks the middle of the prophecy,

it must end 442 years later, in 2027.

(dramatic music)

- [Translator] All this is calculated

in a logical and rational way,

except that this rationality is used for prophecy.

(dramatic music)

- [Narrator] According to another prophet, Pope John XXIII,

doomsday will take place a few years later.

- [Translator] One of the 32 prophecies,

which seemed to explain

that the Catholic Church is going to be abandoned

with two heads and one mother, in other words,

the mother of the church and two emperors.

One can see the similarity with Pope Benedict XVI

renunciation, and Pope Francis, who was elected

during Benedict XVI's lifetime.

He also states amazingly that the end

will be 2,000 years plus the age of Christ.

(dramatic music)

- [Narrator] According to Pope John XXIII

the apocalypse will take place in 2033.

The date of the end of these prophecies.

(dramatic music)

2033, 2027, two texts

announcing troubling events not too far from each other

in the future. (dramatic music)

On closer inspection, these events

could happen sooner than predicted.

On the 27th of November 2012, Pope Benedict XVI

published his third book devoted to Jesus.

(dramatic ominous music)

In his work, the sovereign pontiff talks

about the birth of Christ, according to him,

Jesus was not born in the year zero, but a little earlier.

- [Translator] He writes a book openly saying that finally,

we were wrong about the dates, and that there

is certainly six or seven years of difference.

(speaking in foreign language)

(ominous music)

- [Narrator] This does not change anything for the dates

and the Prophecy of the Popes.

It is its duration that is coded.

But for the text of Pope John XXIII,

this potentially changes everything.

If there is indeed a six-year lag

before the birth of Jesus, the date given by John XXIII,

2001 plus the age of Christ,

could announce doomsday six years before in 2027.

(bells ringing)

We can see, one again, the acts of a sovereign pontiff

going in the direction of the Prophecy of the Popes.

And making it coincide with the predictions of John XXIII.

Why do these two prophecies announce the end of time?

What will happen in 2027?

(ominous music)

(dramatic music)

The Prophecy of the Popes of John XXIII announces

the final judgment, the apocalypse, the end of Rome,

but must we really take this threat seriously?

- [Translator] Of course, we are faced

with the problem of interpretation.

- [Translator] At any case, we're at the end.

Now, what does the apocalypse mean?

And the collapse of Rome mean?

It's a mystery. (dramatic music)

- [Narrator] First possibility, the end of the Papacy.

(crowds cheering)

- [Translator] The prophecy of Malachy

says that the Papacy could end, and that I believe.

(crowds cheering)

- [Narrator] In this case,

what's most likely is that the Pope

would become a simple Bishop of Rome.

- [Translator] You know that the duty of the conclave

is to provide Rome with a bishop.

- [Narrator] For at the beginning,

the one who sat on the thrown of St. Peter,

was only the Bishop of Rome and Christians were united.

Perhaps the main obstacle to ecumenism is the Pope.

And what if the Prophecy of the Popes only predicted the end

of the omnipotence of Rome over the church?

(speaking in foreign language)

- [Translator] The prophecy of Malachy is a serious reminder

to the Catholic Church that the Papacy

is not a monarchy but something

that can be transformed into openness and love.

- [Narrator] And what if Petrus Romanus,

Peter of Rome, was the founder of a new church?

- [Translator] The main mission of the next pope

who is mentioned in the prophecy

of St. Malachy, Petrus Romanus, Peter the Roman

will strictly be to reconcile the churches.

(dramatic music) (speaking in foreign language)

- [Narrator] An ideal, comforting alternative

to the disastrous prophecy.

Second possibility, the apocalypse.

- [Translator] A catastrophe of this scale

at the heart of humanity,

or simply within the Catholic Church,

that's something that the next Pope will have to face.

- [Narrator] We can't hide

the important coincidence of this catastrophe.

(dramatic music)

2027, the end, according to the Prophecy of the Popes.

2027, the last judgment,

what if both predictions are correct?

And if the end Papacy coincided with the end of time,

all this we shall know in 2027.

The year when just maybe, the Prophecy of the Popes

will be fulfilled.

(dramatic orchestral music)