According to a 900-year-old prophecy, the person who will replace Pope Francis has already been predetermined - and he's the last one we will ever have.
The late pontiff, 88, passed away on Easter Monday (21 April) after suffering from a cerebral stroke which led to a coma and irreversible heart failure, the Vatican said.
He had recently spent five weeks in hospital while batting a bout of double pneumonia and addressed crowds for the final time from the balcony of St Peter's Basilica just a day before his death.
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Catholics around the globe are currently observing nine days of mourning, known as the Novendiale, while Pope Francis will be laid to rest at Rome's Basilica of Saint Mary Major on Saturday (26 April).
Following his funeral, the process to elect a new pope will begins, with the church's most senior officials, the College of Cardinals, convening to conduct an election.
While the position of the leader of the Catholic church remains vacant, a lot of people will naturally be pondering who will replace Pope Francis.
White smoke will pour from a chimney in the Sistine Chapel when a new pontiff has been decided upon, and there are a few names being floated around already.
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But according to a prophecy which is nearly a millennium-old, Pope Francis' successor has been written in the stars since the 1100s.
A book known as the Prophecy of the Popes is said to have been penned by Saint Malachy, the 12th‑century Archbishop of Armagh in Northern Ireland, before it was published in 1595 by Benedictine monk Arnold Wion.
It is claimed that Saint Malachy compiled a list of 112 short, cryptic Latin phrases which seem to have actually been a pretty decent prediction of the order of all Catholic popes since 1143.
The book's authenticity is widely debated, especially as the Prophecy of the Popes is made up of strange phrases such as 'the guardian goose' and 'pasturing ox'.
These terms supposedly allude to certain attributes about former pontiffs, such as Pope Alexander III, who's family supposedly had a goose on its coat of arms.
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The same goes for Callixtus III whose coat of arms had an ox standing on a field of grass - but it's hardly stuff which would hold up in court.
Anyway, we'd better hope the prophecy isn't that accurate after all, because after 'Peter the Roman' replaces the late Pope Francis, that's supposed to be it.
Everything comes to an abrupt stop in 2027, apparently, as the book claims that it will be curtains for the lot of us once the new pontiff has been elected.
The Prophecy of the Popes states: "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."
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Rome is the 'seven-hilled city' which the book is referring to, but the rest of the planet won't be spared from destruction either on Judgement Day.
For those who don't know, this is the final day of humanity - also know as the 'Second Coming of Christ' or 'The Final Judgement' - and each person will be judged by God.
The dead are supposed to be resurrected, while each individual could either be saved or sent to the fiery pits of hell.
And according to the Prophecy of the Popes, this will all go down in 2027, but some critics claim that the fact there is even a date listed for Judgement Day proves it's a load of rubbish.
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Naysayers have pointed out that there is a passage in the Bible which describes what this day will look like...but it explicitly states that the date of it should not be predicted.
Matthew 24:36 states: "But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone."
The passage goes on to urge people to 'keep watch' for Judgement Day, adding: "Because you do not know on what day your Lord will come.
"But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into.
"So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him."
Essentially, not even Jesus knows the exact date or time of the Second Coming, so there's no chance that Saint Malachy could have had some inside knowledge.
But what do you reckon?
Topics: Religion, World News, Weird, Books, Pope Francis
Olivia Burke