On the Last Entries of the Prophecies of St. Malachy
• Reverend Antonio Hernández, O.M.D.
...it is said he was poisoned by the light of the half-moon.

---

St Malachy

Cardinal Lustiger

Because of the terrific reception of my previous article, "Peter the Roman", and also because of certain questions, I’ve decided to expand on a minor point I raised in that other article-- which was meant as a biographical sketch of Aron Jean-Marie Cardinal Lustiger, Archbishop of Paris. I had mentioned the prophecies of St. Malachy, a list of all the future popes ending with the last pope.
St. Malachy was a Dark Ages Irish monk, who was granted a literary vision of all the popes, through to the end of the papacy and the Catholic Church. Most importantly to note before anything else is that Malachy stresses the end of the Church and its papacy– not the end of the world. Malachy does not even hint at the end of society, or the "End Times" as some Fundamentalists call it. Only the end of the popes, and the end of the Roman Catholic Church.

Our question dwells for the moment on St. Malachy’s final entries. What is believed to be the fourth-to-last entry, De Medietate Lunae, ‘[He] of the Half-moon’, has been clearly determined to have been John Paul I. This entry is one of Malachy’s richest and most intriguing: JPI had a smile that was compared to a half-moon. His reign, a total of 33 days, was exactly from half-moon to half-moon. His first name, Albino, is derived from the vulgate Latin for "moonlight". And least probably, it is said he was poisoned by the light of the half-moon.

(The prior entry, Flors Florum, ‘Flower of Flowers’, identifying Paul VI, was not fully understood until it was revealed that Paul VI was a practicing homosexual. As usual, there was a more overt meaning: Paul had flowers on his coat-of-arms.)

The next entry, third-to-last, is De Labore Solis, ‘[He] of the Labor of the Sun’. There has been even less doubt that this clearly identifies the present pontiff, John Paul II. The name, wrongly translated as "He of the eclipsed sun", brings to mind the Dark Ages concept of the sun’s "labor": to cross the sky, cover the world with its rays, and force the moon to retreat. Pope John Paul II has indeed crossed the skies, traveling to other countries and bathing the world in his "rays". He also forced the moon out: JPI often told his family that he would have to die to make room for the "foreign pope". We also see "labore solis" as "toil under the sun". Karol Wojtyla certainly did this, laboring in a rock quarry as a young man.

The supposed penultimate entry is problematic. This is De Gloriae Olivae, ‘[He That is] Of the Glory of the Olives’. The simplest explanations have been that this pope will be of Jewish background (the Jews are identified with olives). He could be a major peace bringer, which would make him the glory of the olive indeed. His family could be associated with the growth and production of olives and related products. One astute observer even thought it referenced Cardinal Martini, stating that a martini is certainly "the glory of the olive"! Others reference the fact that a branch of the Benedictines are sometimes called Olivetans.

I propose that this name, in accordance with Malachy’s usual practice, has at least a double, interlocking meaning. Only a powerful cardinal with a Jewish background and a long-standing record of peaceful activity could fit this description. Further, a cardinal who had been saved by a gloriously peaceful action would be an added bonus in identifying him. The only cardinal who fits this most accurate description is Aron Jean-Marie Cardinal Lustiger. If elected, an additional glory would be the fact that he is now very close to the age limit for election; he is only a few years younger than the pope.

Cardinal Lustiger, Archbishop of Paris, is the Ordinary for Eastern Rite Churches in Europe that have no Ordinary of their own. He is a man who has worked very hard to bridge as many gaps as possible, especially between Jews and Christians. Cardinal Lustiger is a man who came from a non-practicing household. His father, like Pope John Paul I’s father, was a dedicated Socialist who did not believe in religious clap-trap. He often chatted with his son about Jews and Christians healing the breach between them; Cardinal Lustiger was raised to believe that this accomplishment alone just might save the world. Later in life, Cardinal Lustiger would continue this dialogue with his school chums, Jew and Christian alike.

Cardinal Lustiger converted to Catholicism at the age of 14-- he was almost 15. This he did of his own volition after having lived with a Catholic family– a situation that saved his life. When his father returned from Auschwitz, after having served as a resistance soldier then taken prisoner, he was stunned and unhappy about his son’s conversion. Soon he accepted the hand of fate, and came to appreciate his son’s views. Cardinal Lustiger’s mother died at Auschwitz, and Lustiger never saw her again after his parents fled France to Poland. It is the memory of his mother that combines with his Jewish heritage that makes Cardinal Lustiger so fascinating–- and a little tragic. Finally, if my memory does not fail me, I believe that when Cardinal Lustiger was a school rector it was at an Olivetan school. Since I cannot be certain of this little fact, perhaps some reader will enlighten me.

St. Malachy’s last entry is Petrus Romanus, easily translated as "Peter the Roman". It is my belief that De Gloriae Olivae and Petrus Romanus might be one and the same pope. Peter the Roman is the only entry that has an accompanying verse, and the way the Glory of Olives and Peter the Roman are presented causes some doubt about them being separate entries. Petrus Romanus is the last pope, and the commentary states that in his time the world will see the end of the Catholic Church as we know it, and certainly the end of the papacy. St. Malachy follows up Glory of Olives so closely with Peter the Roman that it could almost be a double nickname, also something St. Malachy had not done with any other name: The Glory of the Olives, Peter the Roman. It has a suitably Latin, romantic, tragic ring.

We must consider who Peter the Roman was, what the name meant, and means, to Catholics. Peter was, of course, Shimon bar Jonah, the follower of Jesus who is claimed as the first pope. Jesus called Shimon Ananias, which is Aramaic for "Rock", and was clearly meant as an additional name. Thus Peter in his time would have been known as "Shimon Ananias". The name "Peter" comes from the Latin translation of "rock", which is "petrus" or "pietrus".

It cannot be forgotten that Peter saw himself as a good, fulfilled Jew. He never departed from his Jewish roots, nor did he abandon his essential Jewishness. His believed that his master, Rabbi Y’shua bar Yusuf, known to us as Jesus, was ha-Messiach, the Messiah. Moving to Rome, Simon became Peter the Roman-- a foreigner and a Jew, known in Latin as Petrus Romanus. He, too had a double name, as the pope who is both Glory of Olives and Peter the Roman. In light of all these facts, it is easy to see how Malachy’s De Gloriae Olivae and Petrus Romanus could be the same person. A "fulfilled" Jew, powerful in the Catholic Church, a "citizen" of Rome, a convert who believes in both his essential Jewishness and his Christianity– it describes both Simon Peter and Cardinal Lustiger.

At the end of the day, anyone familiar with Cardinal Lustiger cannot fail to see the irony of how the cardinal has been crucified by some in the media, by some Jews and some Christians alike. Crucified upside down, like Simon Peter, because he felt unworthy. Cardinal Lustiger has said he is not worthy to be pope, and prays he will die before he becomes a candidate.
Whether one believes in, or cares about, St. Malachy’s prophecies, whether one believes that the last two entries could be one single entry– none of this really matters. What matters the most today is the state of John Paul II’s health, and the cardinal who will take his place. May the Eternal One smile on this pope, on his successor, and on all the people of the world. This is all, finally, that matters.

© Rev. Antonio Hernandez O.M.D.

The original article that got everyone excited:
Peter The Roman
Reverend Antonio Hernández
Aron Jean-Marie Lustiger, cardinal and Archbishop of Paris, is this front-runner in the soon-to-be-held conclave to elect the next pope.

email: "Antonio. Hernandez" suriak@yahoo.com

One Nation under Scrutiny
Reverend Antonio Hernández, IBA
Thomas Jefferson, for example, wrote a great deal about God, yet he was an atheist.

My Kingdom for a Crown:
An Around-the-World History of the Skullcap
and Its Modern Socio-Political Significance
© Most Reverend Antonio Hernández, O.M.D.

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