According to the document, Malachy predicted that there would be exactly 112 more popes after his time.

The list ends with a dark mention of someone called Peter the Roman, who is said to be the Bishop of Rome during the end times.

According to the text, Peter the Roman’s time in power is described like this:
“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, and the dreadful judge will judge his people. The End.”

Now, of course, skeptics are quick to point out that Peter the Roman doesn’t sound anything like Pope Leo XIV. His real name, Robert Francis Prevost, doesn’t even include “Peter,” so it’s pretty clear that Saint Malachy might’ve missed the mark on this one.

The prophecy also gets his nationality wrong. Pope Leo XIV is both American and Peruvian—not Italian like the nickname “the Roman” would suggest.

Some people believed that the late Pope Francis might have been the mysterious ‘Peter the Roman’, but over the years, this theory has been widely dismissed for similar reasons.

Back in 2013, Josh Canning, director of Toronto’s Chaplaincy at the Newman Centre, told Global News: “I don’t know how you can connect Peter the Roman with Pope Francis.”

Honestly, unless we wake up tomorrow to comets falling from the sky and nuclear missiles flying everywhere, I’m going to stick with my opinion.

For now, it seems like Pope Leo XIV has more important things to worry about than an old prophecy that may or may not have come from someone named Saint Malachy.