Claims Judgement Day will fall in 2027 have been based on the writings of Saint Malachy (Image: Getty)
A 900-year-old book found in the is said to include a prediction on when Judgement Day will fall. This is a day when Christians believe will return to Earth and judge everyone who has lived, separating believers from non-believers.
Claims Judgement Day will fall in 2027 have been based on the writings of Saint Malachy, an Irish bishop from the 12th century who wrote a series of prophecies about the sequence of popes. The text attributed to the saint includes 112 cryptic Latin phrases describing popes from Celestine II and reportedly onwards through time to the current incumbent, Pope Francis, and beyond.
Some have understood one of the final claims in the text to refer to a “Peter” and that he will become pope after Pope Francis, who is currently battling against ill-health.
Others have suggested Pope Francis will be the last pontiff before Judgement Day, according to .
The Bible says Judgement Day is when God will judge everyone who has lived or is living (Image: Getty)
has said St Malachy’s prophecies have been cast into doubt because some of the descriptions of popes from the 16th century onwards are “vague”.
Still, it has also identified “a few good matches”, pointing to the Latin phrase “pastor et nauta”, which translates into English as “shepherd and sailor”.
This entry has been linked to Pope John XXIII who was from Venice, a city of sailors, and a pontiff who declared the aim of his time as leader of the Catholic Church was to be a “good shepherd”.
After Pope Francis, two cryptic Latin phrases are left. These are translated by Catholic.com to “the glory of the olive” and “Peter the Roman”.
In the final passage of the book, the writer claims “Peter the Roman” will “feed his flock among many tribulations” after which “the seven hilled city will be destroyed” and the “dreadful Judge” will pass judgement on “the people”.
Another theory is that Pope Sixtus V is the pontiff who falls in the middle of the list of popes. Sixtus became pope 442 years after the first and so some have suggested with his central position the end of the world will fall 442 after him – 2027.
Don’t miss… [REVEALED] [REPORT]
The book was found in a Vatican archive (Image: Getty)
Sixtus ruled the Papal States and was head of the Catholic Church from April 1585 until his death in August 1590.
Renewed interest in the book, which was discovered over four centuries ago, has been sparked because of Pope Francis’s poor health.
The Catholic Church on Wednesday (March 5) opened its solemn Lenten season leading up to Easter without the participation of Francis, who is in the third week of hospital treatment for double pneumonia.
Francis, 88, has chronic lung disease and had part of a lung removed as a young man. He had two respiratory crises on Monday in a setback to his recovery.
He was breathing with just the help of supplemental oxygen on Tuesday after respiratory crises a day before, but resumed using a ventilation mask at night.
Saint Malachy is said to have written Prophecy of the Popes in 1139, though some scholars have argued the text is a forgery from the 16th century.
Legend has it that St. Malachy wrote the work after experiencing a vision while on a visit to Rome.