The Last Pope: Decoding St Malachy's Prophecy on the Fall of the Vatican

by Robert Howells

Making a detailed examination of the prophecies of St Malachy this engaging piece of detection solves the mystery of the last Pope and the fall of the Roman Catholic Church

Genres: Nonfiction, Religion, History

304 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2013

Reviews

[Matt John · Rating 4 out of 5]

Howells presents a compelling argument of how a prophecy that is over a thousand years old may has been proven throughout the history of the Catholic Church (and a very tempting description of what secrets might still lie locked up, beneath the Vatican). This "Prophecy of the Popes" from St Malachy, remained a secret of the Vatican archives for four hundred years. The predictions of the prophecy provided clues to the identities of one hundred and nine Popes, from the time of St Malachy to the current day. According to the prophecy, Pope Francis is to be the last Pope and the one who will reign through the destruction of the Church and the fall of Rome (Armageddon).

Some of the links to Popes, in order to make this prophecy accurate, are vague at best. Howells gives an in-depth context of the time St Malachy and a brief overview of each Pope who has reigned since. Regardless of the what you think about the connections Howells makes with the prophecy, the detailed history provided of the Catholic Church is accessible and most interesting - and perhaps needs to be read by some of the more "blindly faithful" followers of today. Although reading the book you get the impression that Howells is himself a Catholic, he does not shy away from discussing the Popes and their reign: including their desires for wealth, military and political control.

[Bobbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't normally read books based on religion, but this book was surprisingly more than that. The first 2 chapters are devoted to the mystical and scientific explorations of prophesy and the author covers the various methods of foreseeing the future. The main subject of the book is about the "Prophesies of the Popes" that are mostly attributed as predictions about the line of popes as predicted (with surprising accuracy) by a vision St Malachy had a thousand years ago. According to the prediction the current pope will be the last one, and will be accompanied by the destruction of either the Catholic church, Vatican or all life as we know it, according to how the ancient prophesy is interpreted.
If you like reading history and interpretations of prophesies (like Nostradamus) you may find this fascinating reading.
You don't have to be Catholic or even religious to find the book interesting, its well written and was a much easier read than I expected it to be.

[M.A. · Rating 1 out of 5]

I found this book to be nothing more than long-winded explanation of various predictive/divination methods throughout the ages and across cultures. This read like a textbook filled with subjective statements presented as factual. As a practicing Catholic I think Howells did nothing more than sensationalize historical events and present very questionable "prophecies" and predictions as misunderstood or swept under the rug.

I would not recommend this book to anyone I know. I skimmed it and rolled my eyes after the first chapter.

[Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Robert Howels does a great job here first expaining psychic phenomena then brings us to the Prophecy of Malachy. Robert Howels also explains the history of the prophecy also and it's resurfacing. Each pope that lived since the prophecy is matched to charachteristics of that Pope in the prophecy. Highly recommended.

[Fredrick Danysh · Rating 2 out of 5]

The author uses the prophecies of Malachy to predict the end of the Catholic Church and the world. Veiled attacks are consistent throughout the work and it appears that the prophecies quoted are tailored to fit the author's views. I did not get the feeling that this book was objective and unbiased.

[Steven · Rating 1 out of 5]

Horrible book, do not suggest you waste time with it. It includes dubious prophecies that could easily be related to many people, and is riddle with political statements which go against an objective overview of the Church. Very bad

[Colleen Lahey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very well written and extremely interesting. A lot of information about the Catholic faith that was informative but not dry. Definitely an eye opener.