St. Malachy's Prophecy and Pope Benedict XVI

Why did Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger choose as his papal name Benedict XVI? Many explanations have been offered, but there is one that is particularly intriguing.

Ratzinger was no doubt familiar with the prophesies of St. Malachy, an Irish Bishop who lived in the twelfth century, and who is supposed to have prophesied all of the future popes. Malachy's list was supposedly given to pope Innocent II, and remained hidden in the church archives until it was "discovered" in 1590, and published in 1595 by Arnold de Wyon. A more probable explanation is that the list is a forgery that was composed around that date, possibly by Wyon himself, and attributed to Malachy.

In any case, Malachy's list offers prophetic mottos for 112 remaining popes. Each is supposed to describe some aspect of the pope's life, or, in the case of the earlier popes, a feature of his heraldic coat of arms.

It turns out that we are very near the end of Malachy's list. The motto for the 109th pope, John Paul I, is de medietate lune, "[He] of the half moon." This prophecy is said to have been fulfilled because John Paul I became pope during a half moon and died 33 days later during another half moon. The motto for the 110th pope, John Paul II, is de laboris solis, "[He] of the labor of the sun." This prophecy is said to fit because the sun labors by traveling around the world (Malachy wrote before Copernicus!) and Pope John Paul II was famous for his travels.

The motto for the next pope, Ratzinger, now Benedict XVI, is de gloriae olivae, "[He] of the glory of the olive," about which more in a moment. The last pope in the list (number 112, but no number is given in the text) is Petrus Romanus, or "Peter the Roman." Peter, of course, was the first Bishop of Rome as well as the first pope. This is the only pope for whom Malachy adds a comment: "In extreme persecution, the seat of the Holy Roman Church will be occupied by Peter the Roman, who will feed the sheep through many tribulations, at the term of which the city of seven hills will be destroyed, and the formidable Judge will judge his people. The End." Apparently Petrus Romanus is the last pope before Judgment Day. Some people have argued that because no number is assigned to Petrus Romanus, he is actually the same pope as Gloriae Olivae, and so Gloriae Olivae is in fact the last pope; others argue, to the contrary, that because no number is assigned to Petrus Romanus in Saint Malachy's list, that any number of popes could intervene between Gloriae Olivae and Petrus Romanus, so that the church (and the world) as we know it is not about to end.

Ratzinger surely knew of Malachy's prophecy, and his choice of papal name may have been designed (consciously or unconsciously) to fulfill the prophecy. The phrase "Gloriae Olivae" or "glory of the olives," has several possible meanings. The olive is the sign of the Jews; the olive branch is the sign of peace, and the olive branch is also a symbol of the Benedictine Order, one branch of which is called the Olivetans. Hence some people had speculated that this pope would be a converted Jew (like Cardinal Lustiger of Paris), one who works for peace (like Benedict XV) or a member of the Benedictine Order.

Ratzinger is not a converted Jew, and he is not a member of the Benedictine Order, but by choosing the name Benedict XVI, he made simultaneous reference to Benedict XV, who reigned during World War I, and pushed hard for peace throughout the war, as well as Saint Benedict, the founder of the Benedictine Order.

It is hard to imagine that Ratzinger actually hopes that he will be the next to the last (or the last) pope. For that means that the end of days is near. Nevertheless, the choice of name suggests that he believes that the purpose of his papacy will be striving for peace and confronting evil in the world. Perhaps fittingly, Pope Benedict XVI has chosen pax or "peace" as his papal motto.