The rumors started almost the second Jorge Mario Bergoglio stepped onto that balcony in 2013. You’ve probably seen the TikToks or those dusty corner-of-the-internet forums claiming the world is about to end because of a 900-year-old Irish vision. People are obsessed with the idea: will Francis be the last pope? It sounds like the plot of a Dan Brown novel, but for millions of Catholics and prophecy watchers, this isn't fiction. It’s a countdown.
Honestly, the atmosphere in Rome has been weirdly tense lately. We are sitting here in January 2026, and the Vatican just went through one of the most seismic shifts in modern history. If you haven't been keeping up with the news, Pope Francis passed away on April 21, 2025, after a brutal battle with double pneumonia and respiratory failure. For a few weeks there, the "end of the world" crowd was convinced the lights were about to go out for good.
But then, something happened that the doomsday theorists didn't account for. The white smoke rose. The bells rang. And we got Pope Leo XIV.
The Prophecy of St. Malachy Explained (Simply)
To understand why everyone is asking if Francis was the "final" one, you have to look at the Prophecy of the Popes. This is a list of 112 short Latin phrases supposedly written by St. Malachy, an Irish bishop, back in 1139. Each phrase is a "motto" describing a future pope.
The list is eerily accurate for the early centuries. For instance, Pope John Paul II was born during a solar eclipse; his motto was De labore Solis ("Of the eclipse of the sun"). Benedict XVI was Gloria olivae ("The glory of the olive").
Here is where it gets spooky: Benedict was the 111th name on the list. Francis was the 112th.
The final entry on Malachy’s list isn't just a short phrase. It’s a dark, cinematic paragraph:
"In the final persecution of the Holy Roman Church, there will sit Peter the Roman, who will pasture his sheep in many tribulations, and when these things are finished, the city of seven hills will be destroyed..."
Because Francis followed Benedict, many "prophecy experts" claimed Francis had to be this "Peter the Roman." They pointed out that his father's name was Pietro (Peter) and that as Pope, he is the Bishop of Rome. Case closed, right? Well, not exactly.
Why the "Last Pope" Theory Just Hit a Wall
The election of Cardinal Robert Prevost as Pope Leo XIV in May 2025 basically broke the internet for prophecy hunters. Prevost is the first American pope, a guy from Chicago who also holds Peruvian citizenship. He is definitely not "Peter the Roman" in any literal sense.
So, did the prophecy fail?
Kinda. But prophecy believers are great at moving goalposts. Some now argue that "Peter the Roman" isn't a single person but a type of papacy, or that there’s a gap in the list Malachy didn't see. Even the Catholic Encyclopedia (the heavy hitter of church resources) has long pointed out that the prophecy doesn't say no popes will intervene between the 111th and the last. It just says Peter is the final one, whenever he shows up.
There’s also the very real possibility—and most historians agree here—that the Malachy prophecy is a 16th-century forgery. It was "discovered" in 1590, coincidentally during a papal conclave where it just so happened to favor one of the candidates. Before 1590? Zero record of it.
The Real Crisis Facing the Papacy in 2026
Forget the ancient ghosts and Irish visions for a second. The reason people keep asking if Francis was the "last" is because the style of papacy he represented felt like an ending. Francis was a disruptor. He lived in a guesthouse instead of the palace. He talked about "smelling like the sheep."
The Church he left behind is deeply divided. On one side, you have traditionalists who think the Church is losing its soul. On the other, progressives who think Francis didn't go far enough.
Why people think the institution is "ending":
- The Vatican II Re-read: Leo XIV just announced a massive push to re-implement the reforms of the 1960s. This is causing huge friction with conservative wings of the church.
- The Global Shift: The power center is moving out of Europe. With an American-Peruvian pope now in charge, the old "Roman" way of doing things is fading.
- Ecological "End Times": Francis’s 2015 letter Laudato si' and Leo XIV’s recent messages focus on a "planetary crisis." When the Pope talks about the world ending via climate change, it feeds into that "last pope" anxiety.
What Really Happened With the Transition?
When Francis died, the Conclave of May 2025 was a battleground. You had names like Cardinal Tagle from the Philippines and Cardinal Parolin (the diplomat) in the running. The "last pope" crowd was terrified that if a "Peter" was elected, the city would literally crumble.
Instead, the cardinals chose Robert Prevost. He took the name Leo XIV, a name associated with strength and tradition, but he’s essentially a Francis 2.0. He is focusing on the poor, the environment, and church reform.
👉 See also: Latest Air Crash News: What We Actually Know About the Recent Tragedies
If you’re looking for a supernatural sign that the world is ending, the current Vatican isn't giving it to you. They’re busy planning for the future, not a funeral for the faith. In fact, Leo XIV just closed the 2025 Holy Year with a message of "renewal," not "revelation."
Practical Takeaways for the Curious
If you've been losing sleep over whether we're in the "End Times" because of a viral Latin list, here’s the reality check you need:
- Check the Source: The St. Malachy prophecy is almost certainly a political hit job from the late 1500s. It wasn't written by a 12th-century saint; it was written to rig an election.
- Watch the Policy, Not the Prophecy: The "end" of the papacy as we know it is happening, but it’s administrative. The Church is becoming more decentralized. It’s becoming less "Roman" and more global.
- Francis Wasn't the End: He was a bridge. He transitioned the Church from the rigid 20th century into a much more fluid, messy 21st century.
The papacy has survived the fall of the Roman Empire, the Black Death, and the French Revolution. It’s probably going to survive a TikTok prophecy too. If you want to stay informed, stop looking at medieval mottoes and start looking at what Leo XIV is doing with the world's cardinals right now. They are currently debating the "Synod on Synodality," which is basically a fancy way of saying they're trying to figure out how to keep the Church relevant for the next hundred years. That doesn't sound like an organization that plans on closing up shop anytime soon.
Keep an eye on the upcoming consistories where Leo XIV will appoint new cardinals. Those appointments will tell you more about the future of the papacy than any 900-year-old vision ever could.