Manipulação política

The prophecies were quite accurate up to about 1590 (conveniently the point at which they were found :-), but then became rather vague, lending credence to the theory that they are a 16th-century forgery.

Malachy’s predictions are contained in a list of 112 symbolic phrases supposedly representing a list of 112 popes in succession. Most likely, though, the prophecy was created as an attempt to influence the papal election of 1590 in favor of Cardinal Girolamo Simoncelli by having Malachy’s prophecy identify him as the next pope. But Simoncelli was not elected, instead Niccolò Sfondrati, who took the name Gregory XIV, was.