The prophecy of Malachy QUESTION from A. Basto on May 21, 2002 I was very impressed with your answer on the prophecy of St. Malachy.
I have never before been impressed by a prophecy regarding the end of the world, since the the Church and the Bible teach us that the time and the hour are known by God alone. Also, some people have a bizarre tendency towards believing in the most strange and un-catholic accounts on the end of the World.
But this time the prophecy impressed me. I read your recent answer on the subject, and clicked on the link to Peter Bander's work on the subject. I was also impressed to learn that the Catholic Encyclopedia gives some credit to the prophecy, and that it has many believers.
Also, the appropriateness of the titles given by Malachy to the recent Popes, from Pius IX to Paul VI, according to the information given Peter Bander, is impressive.
I know that we should mind the objections raised against the authoritative character of the prophecy, also knowing that it was never explicitly accepted or rejected by the Magisterium.
If the prophecy is correct, then Pope John Paul I is the one called Medietate Lunae (Of the Half Moon), and Jonh Paul II is Labore Solis (Toil/Effort/Distress/Suffering of the Sun - with Bander, who died during Paul VI translation pointing out that the difficult-to-translate Latin expression could well be a reference to an eclipse of the Sun.)
Then, it is said that the last two Popes before the end of time would be the one known as Gloria Olivae (Glory of the Olives), and the last one, Petrus Romanus (Peter the Roman).
After reading your answer, I researched the web searching for information that could explain the titles assigned to John Paul I and John Paul II in the prophecy.
Thus, I ask your help to confirm the following:
a) Is it true that the birthname of John Paul I (Albino Luciani), could be interpreted as meaning White Light?
b) Is it true that there one lunar eclipse took place half-way into Pope John Paul I's thirty-three day long reign?
c) Is it true that Pope John Paul II was born during the solar eclipse of May 18th, 1920?
And last, but not least: What should a catholic faithful, who wants to remain in full communion and peace with the Holy Roman Church, think about the Prophecy?
ANSWER by Q & A Staff on May 22, 2002 Dear Mr. Basto,
thanks for your kind comments.
To answer your questions:
a) Is it true that the birthname of John Paul I (Albino Luciani), could be interpreted as meaning White Light?
Answer: The Latin for light is lux, (genitive lucis) from which we get the English words lucid, translucent, and so on. The Latin for white is albus, from which we get English words such as albino, and albumin (egg-white). So it seems pretty clear that Pope John Paul I's name Albino Luciano can be interpreted to mean white light.
b) Is it true that there one lunar eclipse took place half-way into Pope John Paul I's thirty-three day long reign?
Answer: yes this is correct; the total lunar eclipse took place on 16th September 1978, halfway through his reign. (There are an average two lunar eclipses per year.)
c) Is it true that Pope John Paul II was born during the solar eclipse of May 18th, 1920?
Answer: yes, this is correct. It was a partial solar eclipse, but the largest of the 20th century with a magnitude of 0.9734. (This info from the NASA/GODDARD SPACE FLIGHT CENTER ECLIPSE HOME PAGE
Finally, a faithful Catholic is free to accept or reject the prophecy, as it is a matter of private, not public, revelation. He/she should not misinterpret the prophecy however, to start thinking that the end of the world is around the corner. Not only is this extremely unwise, and cautioned against by Christ Himself, but the unanimous testimony of centuries of Catholic saints indicates an era of peace which is yet to come before the end of the world. See Desmond Birch's book Trial, Tribulation, and Triumph for further info.
God bless, .
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