Petrus Romanus is the prophesized final Pope of the Roman Catholic Church, immediately following Pope Benedict. Many fear Romanus coming to power could fulfill the prophecy and end the Church. In the novel, Petrus Romanus, a kid from New York City, a fighter, a widower, a sinner, a prophet, a faith healer, becomes an unlikely man of the cloth and finds himself on the Romanus List, a mysterious list of targeted clergy who could become Petrus Romanus and end the Church.
Factual Background on St. Malachi’s prophecy of Petrus Romanus: In the 12th Century, St. Malachi E. Morgain wrote a prophecy listing the remaining 112 Popes of the Catholic Church. The current Pope, Pope “Benedict” is the second to last Pope in Malachi’s prophecy, leaving only Petrus Romanus as the next and final Pope.
Of John Paul I, St. Malachi wrote: “Pope 109, Of the Half Moon.” From Beluna (Beautiful Moon), this Pope was in office only one month before dying under strange circumstances.
Of John Paul II: “Pope 110, The Labor of the Sun.” John Paul II came from Poland (the Polish flag depicts a Sun) and worked in labor camps and later with Solidarity.
Of Benedict XVI: “Pope 111, The Glory of the Olives.” Malachi scholars believed he would come from the Olivetans, part of the Benedictine Order; although not of that Order, this Pope took the name ‘Benedict’ nonetheless*.
Of the final and unnumbered Pope, Petrus Romanus, directly following Pope Benedict, St. Malachi wrote: "Petrus Romanus: During the final persecution of the Holy Roman Church, there will reign Peter the Roman, who will feed his flock amid many tribulations, after which the seven hilled city will be destroyed and the dreadful Judge will judge the people."
Malachi scholars speculate this marks the end of the Church, or the Church as we know it.
The epic novel, Petrus Romanus, spans thirty years of Petey Valentine’s blessed and tortured history, from his honeymoon in Lourdes in 1978 where he receives his first prophecy, to his transition into the clergy and eventual retirement from decades of war-zone missionary work, he returns to Brooklyn, his family restaurant and friends in the mafia. Despite his shroud of controversy, his rage at God over the death of his wife, and the Church’s struggle to control him, this rogue Bishop uses his celebrity and international connections to popularize faith, to establish a world wide inter-faith ministry, and rise in international power within the Church. Could this sinner from the streets of New York City become Petrus Romanus?
*For purposes of this novel, the Glory of the Olives Pope is not named Benedict (the name being left open for reader speculation) to maintain a respectful distance from the Papacy of Benedict the XVI. At the time the work was written as a screenplay, prior to Pope John Paul II's death, after careful study of St. Malachi's Prophecy, the work identified the name of the next Pope as Benedict.
Factual Background on St. Malachi’s prophecy of Petrus Romanus: In the 12th Century, St. Malachi E. Morgain wrote a prophecy listing the remaining 112 Popes of the Catholic Church. The current Pope, Pope “Benedict” is the second to last Pope in Malachi’s prophecy, leaving only Petrus Romanus as the next and final Pope.
Of John Paul I, St. Malachi wrote: “Pope 109, Of the Half Moon.” From Beluna (Beautiful Moon), this Pope was in office only one month before dying under strange circumstances.
Of John Paul II: “Pope 110, The Labor of the Sun.” John Paul II came from Poland (the Polish flag depicts a Sun) and worked in labor camps and later with Solidarity.
Of Benedict XVI: “Pope 111, The Glory of the Olives.” Malachi scholars believed he would come from the Olivetans, part of the Benedictine Order; although not of that Order, this Pope took the name ‘Benedict’ nonetheless*.
Of the final and unnumbered Pope, Petrus Romanus, directly following Pope Benedict, St. Malachi wrote: "Petrus Romanus: During the final persecution of the Holy Roman Church, there will reign Peter the Roman, who will feed his flock amid many tribulations, after which the seven hilled city will be destroyed and the dreadful Judge will judge the people."
Malachi scholars speculate this marks the end of the Church, or the Church as we know it.
The epic novel, Petrus Romanus, spans thirty years of Petey Valentine’s blessed and tortured history, from his honeymoon in Lourdes in 1978 where he receives his first prophecy, to his transition into the clergy and eventual retirement from decades of war-zone missionary work, he returns to Brooklyn, his family restaurant and friends in the mafia. Despite his shroud of controversy, his rage at God over the death of his wife, and the Church’s struggle to control him, this rogue Bishop uses his celebrity and international connections to popularize faith, to establish a world wide inter-faith ministry, and rise in international power within the Church. Could this sinner from the streets of New York City become Petrus Romanus?
*For purposes of this novel, the Glory of the Olives Pope is not named Benedict (the name being left open for reader speculation) to maintain a respectful distance from the Papacy of Benedict the XVI. At the time the work was written as a screenplay, prior to Pope John Paul II's death, after careful study of St. Malachi's Prophecy, the work identified the name of the next Pope as Benedict.
