I heard, as a kid, that the number of Popes was limited. That after the 16th or so Pope, God would return and the world would come to an end.


I'd heard rumors that Mormon prophets were watching closely for the "end times" signs as each Pope died, moved on.


So, does any one have any definitive answers?

Was there a limit on how many Popes were to be head of the RC church? Have we reached that limit? An explanation for the lack of "end times" if the limit was reached?


Where do I find the answers to these questions for myself? Not that it really matters... it's all just myth and fiction anyway, Right?

Google prophecy of the popes.

Basically it is an old prophecy from the 1300s or 1500s depending on who you ask that lists 112 popes with the current pope being the last.

At that point the church or the world ends, again depending on who you ask.

If after the 16th Pope, the world ends, we have all been living post-apocalyptic for a very long time.

No limit. Only two have ever resigned, the rest stay until death. At that point, one of the Cardinals will call the deceased Pope's birth name three times, and when there is no response, the death is confirmed.

The Carmelengo (a priest that has served in the house of the Pope) then starts the very involved process of recalling all the Cardinals in the church for Conclave, which is held in the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican. Cardinals over the age of 70, I believe, are neither eligible to be elected or vote, but I would need to check on that. Any other Cardinal is eligible.

They hold up to two votes a day. Each Cardinal writes the name of who they believe the Holy Spirit is leading them towards. The names are read and if there is no consensus, the ballots are burned using a chemical that turns the smoke black. In this way, people outside the chapel know there has been no election. When consensus is reached, a chemical is added to make the smoke white.

The new pontiff is then "vested" - clothed in the new white vestments of the pontificate. A name is chosen, and a new Fisher's Ring is struck. (The old one worn by the previous Pope is destroyed upon his death). The new Pope is prepared in the "room of tears" - so called because of the weight of the responsiblility of being the Vicar of Christ. He is then led to the balcony overlooking the plaza, and introduced to the faithful gathered and then to the world.

As a side note, the infallibility of the Pope is hugely misconstrued by secular society. The Pope is only considered infallible when speaking on matters of doctorine when speaking "Ex Cathedra" - from the Chair of Peter. If he says Tuesday is laundry day, that is not an infallable statement. If he says, after years of synods and counsels and biblical research and anaylsis, that Mary was assumed directly to Heaven, says it from the Chair of Peter, then it is considered doctorine and is then accepted by the faithful. He will then release an encyclical detailing the process. It is also important to note that it cannot EVER contradict scripture or anything already revealed.

It was nothing I ever heard growing up Catholic. Catholics are a very optimistic people. They don't expect the world to end anytime soon.

I agree with Summmer. I grew up Catholic and have many Catholic relatives. None of them believe in, or even talk about the "end times."

"When I die it will be the end of the world."
- -Sigismund Sarabia-O'keefe, 1944-2003


Obviously he was wrong, from my perspective. He was a heck of a golfer, though.

Saint Malachy did a prophecy of the popes in which he did a spot on job of describing each one. The last pope is Petrus Romanus (Peter the Roman), the anti-pope/false prophet/black pope/false pope,that will bring about the destruction of Rome.

This false prophet will be the 266th Pope who will visit the beast on the 266th day of the year which is symbolic because it takes 266 days to gestate a human baby.He may declare Lucifer is God. Perhaps he could become Pope by blackmailing the current Pope into resigning, but Popes do not resign, right?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dcpVrtv2t-M

How can one be a false Pope since they are elected? Simply by being a Jesuit Priest, as they are the Police of the church and thereby not allowed to be "The Bishop of Rome".
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mpssj-1YHAk

This anti-christ Pope will perform miracles.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=67CnYoVWd7w

While doctors schedule due dates at 280 days post-conception, the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences has calculated the average gestation period of humans to be 268 days based on empirical evidence, not 266.

There is absolutely nothing preventing a Jesuit from becoming pope. The current pope, Francis, is a Jesuit. It is one of many Catholic orders. The Jesuits are not the "police" of the church. They have a reputation for being well educated. They are regarded as the intellectuals of the church. They often teach at Catholic high schools and colleges. For instance, Georgetown University is a Jesuit institution. There are many others.

Most scholars think the "prophecies of Malachy" were actually written by someone else, long after "Malachy" lived.

"The Prophecy of the Popes (Latin: Prophetia Sancti Malachiae Archiepiscopi, de Summis Pontificibus) is a series of 112 short, cryptic phrases in Latin which purport to predict the Roman Catholic popes (along with a few antipopes), beginning with Pope Celestine II. The alleged prophecies were first published by Benedictine monk Arnold Wion in 1595. Wion attributes the prophecies to Saint Malachy, a 12th-century Archbishop of Armagh, Ireland.

Given the very accurate description of popes up to 1590 and lack of accuracy after that year, historians generally conclude that the alleged prophecies are a fabrication written shortly before they were published. The Roman Catholic Church also dismisses them as forgery. The prophecies may have been created in an attempt to suggest that Cardinal Girolamo Simoncelli's bid for the papacy in the second conclave of 1590 was divinely ordained."

Follow up.

French foreign minister declares climate chaos on September 23,2015.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2QDJb6fF8pg

The first Pope to address both houses of Congress, the UN and conduct Mass in Madison Square Garden.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EEDMSl1zOxU

andIplayedJoe

>"Given the very accurate description of popes up to 1590 and lack of accuracy after that year, historians generally conclude that the alleged prophecies are a fabrication written shortly before they were published"

Sounds an awful lot like Joe Smith's "prophecies" in the BOM.

Should be under wseBerkeleyflats post.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/07/2015 07:52PM by nonamekid.

does that count include the one that was a woman?

I was brought up Catholic and attending some adult classes on 'The Faith' after a spell associating with JW's, before later investigating other churches.

Basically there is no end of the world stuff in Catholicism. The focus is on education, work, family and attending mass and then some get involved with the charitable stuff, some don't. Everyone is left to follow their own levels of commitment including non at all.

Since being taught that Catholicism is the great Mother of all Harlots, Whore of babylon (according to JW's, Christadelphians, some hard line protestants and a few LDS hardcore too, I've learned that The Catholic church existed for around 300 plus years before the New testament was canonised by them.

It never made sense to me that the church which gave the new testament Cannon would canonise and select scriptures that single them out as the Whore of Babylon, Mother of all Harlots etc.

When Joseph Smith included this similar whore of babylon style terminology in his Book of Mormon, it was another giveaway he was making it up and was just pandering to anti catholic views of his day.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/07/2015 07:37PM by Zeezromp.

cristib Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I heard, as a kid, that the number of Popes was
> limited. That after the 16th or so Pope, God would
> return and the world would come to an end.

FYI, according to the official count of the Vatican, there have been 266 popes, of which 23 were called "John."

> I'd heard rumors that Mormon prophets were
> watching closely for the "end times" signs as each
> Pope died, moved on.

Ha ha ha ha ha! Never heard this, but it's hilarious.

> So, does any one have any definitive answers?
>
> Was there a limit on how many Popes were to be
> head of the RC church? Have we reached that limit?
> An explanation for the lack of "end times" if the
> limit was reached?
>
>
> Where do I find the answers to these questions for
> myself? Not that it really matters... it's all
> just myth and fiction anyway, Right?

You said it.