HALIFAX, Nova Scotia, May 4, 2025 – Pardon me if I’m not supposed to notice, but aren’t there an awful lot of papabile Peters in the 2025 conclave? I’m sure it doesn’t have anything to do with Malachy’s prophecy of “Peter the Roman” being the 112^th (*see note below) and final pope, and it’s likely all just a coincidence. Nothing to see here, folks; move along. But still, I can’t help but notice all the Peters surging to the forefront of the betting odds… and what are the odds of THAT?

I wrote two and a half months ago, when Bergoglio was still warming Peter’s seat (or better said, lukewarming it), that the next pope will likely be a Peter. It could be someone who was christened Peter at birth, or it could be someone who takes the name of Peter after being crowned pope (I say “crowned”, but they don’t actually do that anymore to Caesars, I mean popes, at least not publicly). No pope has yet to take the name of Peter, allegedly out of deference to the original Peter. If someone who wasn’t christened Peter at birth becomes the next pope and takes the name of Peter, well, it might not yet be time to head for the hills, but you could consider sleeping with your running shoes on.

Here, in ranked order, is the latest list of the men most likely to be crowned pope in the 2025 conclave, according to a global betting site. Note that “Peter” can be spelled differently, depending on the language.

1. Pier Parolin
2. Luis Antonio Tagle
3. Mateo Zuppi
4. Peter Turkson
5. Robert Sarah
6. Pierbattista Pizzaballa
7. Peter Erdo

Of these top seven contenders, four are Peters. I would wager that this many Peters on the papal short-list has never happened before.

What are we to make of it? Just a “coincidence”? Or is the Peter the Roman prophecy being force-fed into the pope-picking process because the scripted end is upon us?

Me, I’m rolling for Peter Pizzaballa becoming the next Big Cheese, solely because his name makes me hungry for pizza. That, and because Pizzaballa is currently the head honcho (Head Cheese? lol groan) of the Catholics in the very place where scripture tells us Peter actually was the head honcho for a time – Jerusalem. So, if the next pope is an Italian named Peter who already sits in the historically and scripturally designated seat of Peter in Jerusalem, then I’d say all the boxes (pizza boxes?) are checked for Malachy’s “Peter the Roman” prophecy coming to life. And it would be just the icing on the cake (or dare I suggest, extra cheese on the pie?) if all this happened now, at the 2025 conclave, given that humanity has recently been handed its eviction notice due to the allegedly impending polar shift that’s going to wipe most of us out in as little as 4 to 6 years.

The 2025 conclave starts in three days. Let’s see what happens.

In the meantime, for your viewing and listening pleasure, here’s a little ditty serenading pizza at a bakery in Peter Pizzaballa’s hometown of Bergamo, Italy. Enjoy!

ll fornaio pizza Bergamo Italy #shorts – YouTube

(* The next pope will be the112^th from the time the prophecy was issued, if you count the Bergoglio papacy as invalid, as numerous priests have done and have been excommunicated for their efforts.)