Prophecy of the Popes

A medieval list of every pope to come. The list, note the counters, is nearly finished.

The Prophecy of the Popes: 112 Latin mottoes supposedly foretelling every pope, attributed to 12th-century Irish saint Malachy but first published by a Benedictine in 1595 — and suspiciously accurate only up to 1590, vague after. Scholars regard it as a forgery built for a papal conclave. Its final motto, 'Peter the Roman,' under whom Rome is destroyed, made Benedict XVI's resignation and every conclave since a lore event. Documented: the 1595 publication and the accuracy cliff at exactly that date.