Pope Leo's name sparks concerning conspiracy theory amid claims ancient prophecy is a terrifying warning for mankind
Topics: Pope Francis, Pope Leo, TikTok
Mia Williams
Featured Image Credit: TIZIANA FABI/AFP via Getty Images
Topics: Pope Francis, Pope Leo, TikTok
While Catholics around the world rejoice after the election of Pope Leo XIV, conspiracy theorists have warned that it may be bad news for mankind.
It was announced just yesterday (8 May) that Robert Francis Prevost is the new head of the Catholic Church, and will be known as Pope Leo XIV.
It seems that deliberations in Vatican City took less time than usual, with it taking just two days for the college of cardinals to choose their next leader.
And while the sight of the white smoke drifting from the Sistine Chapel should be a moment for catholics, conspiracy theorists have suggested that it may not be the time for celebrations.
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A resurfaced 100-year-old prophecy suggests that the 69-year-old pope may be the last to ever take on the enormous role.
The text was written in the 1100s by a man named Saint Malachy, and it was titled 'Prophecy of the Popes'.
He predicted that there would be a further 112 popes after his lifetime, and named each of them.
A content creator on TikTok who read the prophecy suggested that Malachy noted the last pope would lead the world through a time of 'fire, tribulation, and destruction'.
According to the user, the prophecy also mentioned 'Leo the lion', which of course feels slightly eerie.
He went onto say: "Revelations talks about a beast that appears that looks like a lion, but talks like a dragon."
The last name on Malachy's list of popes is a man named 'Peter the Roman', who is serving as the Bishop of Rome when the world ends.
Of course, the newly-elected pope is not a Peter, so it's not difficult to break the conspiracy theory.
The text also gets his nationality wrong, as Pope Leo XIV holds both American and Peruvian citizenship, not Italian, as the prophecy suggests.
Others in previous times have suggested that the late Pope Francis was 'Peter the Roman', but that doesn't make much sense either.
Josh Canning, director of Toronto's Chaplaincy at the Newman Centre, said in 2013, via Global News: "I don't know how you can connect Peter the Roman with Pope Francis."
Of course, we think the new pope has a couple of more pressing issues to be dealing with at the moment, rather than what a prophecy predicted about a guy named Peter over a hundred years ago.