Prophecy of the Popes
The Prophecy of the Popes (Latin: Prophetia Sancti Malachiae Archiepiscopi, de Summis Pontificibus, "Prophecy of Saint-Archbishop Malachy, concerning the Supreme Pontiffs") is a series of 112 short, cryptic phrases in Latin which purport to predict popes (along with a few antipopes) of the Catholic Church, beginning with Celestine II. It was first published in 1595 by Benedictine monk Arnold Wion, who attributed the prophecy to Saint Malachy, a 12th-century Archbishop of Armagh. Given the accurate description of popes up to around 1590 and lack of accuracy for the popes that follow, historians generally conclude the alleged prophecy is a pseudepigraphic fabrication written shortly before publication.