Pope Peter II is a hypothetical papal name and a common antipapal name, particularly in recent times.
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The name and its connotation
Out of respect for the Apostle St Peter, no Pope has ever adopted the name Peter II. According to Roman Catholic tradition, St Peter was installed as the first Pope by Jesus Christ. Though the adoption of that name is not canonically barred, it is considered unlikely that any future Pope would ever choose such a name. The likelihood of such a choice may be further diminished by a passage in the controversial Prophecy of the Popes, that mention a Peter the Roman or Petrus Romanus as the final Pope, who would feed his sheep in many tribulations and in the days of the final persecution. This note invests the name of Peter II with an apocalyptic connotation. The Prophecy of the Popes has no formal standing and is given little weight by most scholars.
Modern antipopes
Possibly related to the apocalyptic connotation is the fact that several modern antipopes, pretenders to the Roman Papal throne and claimants to an alternative Catholic Papal throne, have also taken the regnal name Peter II, as they believe that they are now in the end times and fulfilling the prophecy of Peter the Roman. These are:
- Chester Olszewski, self-proclaimed in 1980 in Pennsylvania, USA.
- Aime Baudet, self-proclaimed in 1984 in Belgium.
- Pierre Henri Bubois, self-proclaimed in 1985 in Belgium.
- Maurice Archieri, self-proclaimed as Vicar of Christ for the Last Days in 1995 in Le Perreux, France
- Julius Tischler, self-proclaimed in 1998 in Germany.
- Daniel and Paul, self-proclaimed (prophecy of the twins) in North America.
- Manuel Corral succeeded Clemente Domínguez y Gómez (Antipope Gregory XVII) as the Pope of the Palmarian Catholic Church in 2005 in Spain
- William Kamm, self-proclaimed (Order of Saint Charbel) in Australia.
Fiction
- In the Left Behind series, Peter Mathews, a corrupt Catholic Bishop, is elected Pope Peter II and subsequently becomes a leader of the Enigma Babylon One World Faith. This is a deliberate inversion of the passage from Prophecy of the Popes.
- In The Third Secret by Steve Berry, an ambitious Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Alberto Valendrea is elected pope, and chooses the name Peter II.
References
- List of antipopes (from a Conclavist website supporting the claims of "Pope Michael"; it lists the four Roman Pontiffs between Pius XII and Benedict XVI as "Modernist heresiarchs")
