The Prophecy of the Popes

Record summary

The Prophecy of the Popes is a list of short Latin mottoes purportedly identifying future popes, published by Arnold de Wyon in 1595 and attributed to the twelfth-century Saint Malachy. Researchers generally debate it as a late-sixteenth-century composition, with apparent accuracy concentrated among popes before publication and increasingly strained interpretations afterward. It matters for comparison because it shows how attribution, selective matching, and print circulation can create durable prophetic authority. The text’s author, intended purpose, and relation to contemporary political concerns remain subjects of historical discussion.