ST.
JOHN OF CAPISTRANO (1385-1456) was a
Franciscan friar and Catholic priest from the Italian town of
Capestrano, Abruzzo. Famous as a preacher, theologian, and
inquisitor, he earned himself the nickname 'the Soldier Saint' when
in 1456 at age 70 he led a crusade against the invading Ottoman
Empire at the siege of Belgrade with the Hungarian military commander
John Hunyadi. Elevated to sainthood, he is the patron saint of
jurists and military chaplains, as well as the namesake of the
Franciscan missions San Juan Capistrano in Southern California and
San Juan Capistrano in San Antonio, Texas.
There are a
few Great Monarch prophecies attributed to him:
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"There
shall arise a certain grave and constant man near Aquisgrave (Aachen)
of the Rhine; who being chosen, shall restore the Apostolic
Discipline: and in the third incursion of time, shall prevail and do
great things; and there shall be of his race to the day of judgment."
(Apparently,
the Great Monarch will reveal himself in Aachen Germany near the
Rhine and restore the discipline of the Church. It seems St. John
also foretells the King destined to restore the Church will be chosen Holy
Roman Emperor as Aachen is where the Holy Roman Emperor after he was
elected received the German crown. Interesting a 'third incursion of
time' is mentioned. The mystic Marie-Julie Jahenny also foretold
there will be three periods of chastisements, and the King will come
in the third. She also foretold his armies will gather near a river.)
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Note
about the next set of prophecies attributed to St. John of
Capistrano: according to Fr. Culleton who reprinted these particular
prophecies, the next passages are supposed to be prophecies of the
last 8 popes before the coming of the Great Monarch, but, the eight
passages don't seem to be very distinctive in foretelling separate
papacies and are way too general to say for certain what pope they
could refer to. A few are too obscure, while on the other hand,
some seem similar to other Great Monarch prophecies and to the times
that come before and after him. In this instance, I will offer my
own observations where similarities with other Great Monarch
prophecies occur.
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1) The
ox shall again be full of life and his trumpets shall resound with
sweet lowing.
2) A
great city beast shall succeed and devour the pastures of little
ones. (In other prophecies, a city has turned evil and persecutes
Christians before the coming of the Great Monarch. In most of the
prophecies, Paris is mentioned. Too bad St. John Capistrano did not
mention the city where the beast comes from in his prophecy.)
3) He
shall come from the North Wind (Aquilone) , enter into the Sanctuary
and the Church will renew her seed. (Note: Other prophecies say the
Great Monarch will come down from the north with his armies. The
Church will be renewed when he comes. The 'He' could therefore refer
to the Great Monarch.)
4) He
shall explain the ten heads of the Dragon and he shall destroy in the
Holy Land the Author of Wickedness. (I.e. Possibly a strange
misprint? The dragon of the Apocalypse has seven heads with ten
horns. Considering other prophecies state the Great Monarch will go
to war against the Muslims and eventually go to Jerusalem, it is
possible he also fights against the Muslims there. Islam is an
'antichrist' religion as it denies the divinity of Christ. If this
prophecy by St. John Capistrano refers to the Great Monarch, the King
will expose and reveal the meaning of the heads of the Apocalyptic
dragon – i.e. he will point out all the various heresies of the
dragon, the rulers that follow them and subdue them. Interesting enough, in the book of the
Apocalypse the many-headed dragon attempts to devour the child the
Woman clothed with the sun brings forth. The child may not only be a
symbolic representation of the Church, but also the Great Monarch who
will rule the world with a rod of iron, i.e he will be a king of war
and bring peace through war. For more information on this possible
interpretation of the Apocalypse, click here. )
5) The
people will be dying with hunger when he is created who will divide
and give to the poor.
6) The
Tree shall give forth its fruits, but the destroying beast shall
devour them. (I.e. If this is a Great Monarch prophecy, this is in
keeping with other prophecies that the Antichrist will come after the
Age of Peace and destroy the Great Monarch's work.)
7) The
brightness of the exposed countenance shall be lifted, and the faces
of the proud shall fall before the face of the oppressor. (I.e. If
this too is a Great Monarch prophecy, the proud of the earth will
fall when the Great Monarch comes forth, the evil oppressors will
become the oppressed.)
8) There
shall be signs of the sun and moon when there shall be created a man
stronger than any prince, and he shall renew the face of the Church.
At this time Antichrist shall have been trodden under foot and all
the world shall enjoy the faith and peace of the Most High. (Note:
as a 'created man' will come and bring renewal and peace to the
Church, it is obvious this is referring to the Great Monarch and not
to Christ, therefore this must be referring to a precursor Antichrist
period before the Great Monarch comes. Other prophecies have
foretold a precursor Antichrist ruler and his era will be defeated
when the Great Monarch brings the Age of Peace and restores Catholic
monarchies and renews the Church for a period of time. There will also be
signs in the sky announcing the Great Monarch's arrival,
but as earlier prophecies have foretold the real Antichrist will come after the Great Monarch's death.
It will be Christ Himself who will defeat the real Antichrist on the
Last Day.)
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(Source of these prophecies: Rev R. Gerald. Culleton, The Prophets and
Our Times, Tan Books and Publishers 1941, p. 157)
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