A reader writes:
Somebody asked me in regard of this article: is it true or false, is it authentic or just regular pious writings to threaten people?
http://www.divinemercyinc.com/St%20Padre%20Pio%20Prophecies.htm
To me, any document not published by the Catholic Church is not authentic.
Nevertheless, I need to hear from you, what do you say in regard of this article?
First a clarification: It is true that any document not published by the Church is not “authentic” in the sense that this term is used in magisterial statements. In Church documents the term “authentic” typically means “authoritative,” and it is true that documents not published or endorsed by the magisterium are not authoritative for the faith of Catholics.
This is particularly true with regard to alleged or apparent private revelations, which at most receive an endorsement from the Church indicating that they are credible, but not that they are binding or authoritative.
This is not to say that any document not published by the Church should be dismissed out of hand. Current canon law does not require that material can be published only for approved apparitions. Under present law, seers may publish legitimate private revelations even though these have not received ecclesiastical approval.
So I wouldn’t dismiss something simply because it hasn’t been published by or approved by the Church.
Now let’s deal with the site in question. It features quotations attributed to Padre Pio regarding the supposed “three days of darkness” that have been discussed among some students of private revelations.
The first thing that leaps out regarding the Padre Pio quotations is that no identifiable literary source is given for them. They are simply introduced by the statement “Words of Christ to St Padre Pio” and concluded with “(Blessed Padre Pio).”
Just when and where did Padre Pio record these words? How do we know that he claimed to have received them from Christ at all?
Without a trackable source, we don’t know anything of the kind.
So let’s go a little further and see what we find. If we Google the opening words of the revelation we find that it only has three hits: the page the reader is asking about, a forum inquiry asking if the revelation is genuine, and a Google Books hit for a book by the psychic medium Sylvia Browne (MORE INFO).
This does not inspire confidence in the alleged revelation. If this were an authentic quote, it should have a bigger cyber-footprint than that, with some sources directing us to a traceable source (something that none of the hits do, including Sylvia Browne’s book).
I haven’t done a great deal of research on the “three days of darkness” literature, but someone who has is Desmond Birch, author of Trial, Tribulation, & Triumph, a 600-page book on prophetic ideas. I can’t assess the book as a whole (because I haven’t read it), but I would note the following section. The author (who himself seems to favor the idea that there will be a “three days of darkness”) writes:
“1. Padre Pio Did Not Predict Three Days of Darkness [emphasis in original]
“. . . There are printed materials containing prophecy of three days of darkness which attribute such a prophecy to Padre Pio. But the author [i.e. Birch] has in his possession sworn documents from the Capuchin Order stating that no such prophecy ever emanated [sic] from Padre Pio. All the author’s attempts to track down an authentic source from Padre Pio have led to the conclusion that; [sic] some person(s) either accidentally or willfully created these attributions of such a prophecy to Padre Pio” (Trial, Tribulation, & Triumph, p. 283).
It would be nice if Mr. Birch had included the full text of the documents he refers to, perhaps as an appendix, so that the reader could evaluate them for himself. That’s the purpose of 600-page books, after all. Were they written by someone qualified to speak for the Capuchin Order as a corporate entity? Were they really sworn? Why? And just what do they say?
While I’m not sure that Mr. Birch phrased himself in the best way, and while his publisher definitely should have provided better copy editing and proofreading for his text, I want to commend him for looking into this matter and reporting back what one would suspect from the use of the quotation on the Internet–that Padre Pio does not appear to have made such predictions.
In the absence of better sourcing, I would conclude that the quotation on the page linked above is most likely a fake.
The sensationalism some men attribute to the saints is both ironic and disgusting; ironic in that the saints caution us against sensationalism and recommend us to trust in God, disgusting in that any sensationalism falsely attributed to the saints is a mockery of the words and works God did through them. God is the Truth: He dose not tolerate the least lie, even if it is for a good cause.
Jimmy,
Thank you. I’ve heard something about this 3 days of darkness and had no idea where it was coming form. Thank you for clearing it up!
Taylor Marshall
All you need to see to be pretty sure this isn’t real is the overuse of capitals, boldface, and different colors on the page asked about.
Speaking of which, besides being a different color than usual, the links in this entry don’t work–that is, they’re unclickable. What’s going on?
Someone who is interested may want to do a search on “Translation of a copy of a personal letter written by Padre Pio addressed to the Commission of Heroldsbach appointed by the Vatican”.
Re: Terry
Just did that. (Click on my name to see the Google result) Looks like that so-called translation of a so-called letter is being hailed by disobedient Catholics. Just more proof to disregard the sensationalism.
I have done a bit of research recently into the so called 3 days of darkness and there does seem to be a wide range of what may be considered reliable sources. As to the alleged letter “written” by Padre Pio.. no real confirmation of authenticity seemed to be available anywhere… Padre Pio would only write anything like this in confidence and in obedience to the his superior or the Church.. and therefore it would hardly likely be out in the public domain without some traceable history and I concluded it was a fake and a hoax…
This is the saint who talked about it…
Blessed Anna Maria Taigi (d. 1837)
“There shall come over all the earth an intense darkness lasting three days
and nights. Nothing will be visible and the air will be laden with
pestilence, which will claim principally but not exclusively the enemies of
religion. Artificial light will be impossible, only blessed candles will
afford illumination.
“He, who out of curiosity opens his windows to look out or leaves his house
will fall dead on the spot.
“All the enemies of the Church, secret as well as known will perish over the
whole earth.. with the exception of some few, whom God will soon after
convert.
“After three days, saints Peter and Paul (Enoch and Elijah?) will come down
from Heaven and will preach throughout the world and designate a new Pope.
All will note the edifying conduct of their lives, and Russia, England and
China will come into the Church”.
I concur with Nick: Padre Pio despised the overestimation of his powers, and never encouraged people to treat him like the last apostle.
I looked into this a while ago (the page with this claim has been there for several years). As I recall, I came across sourced quotations from Padre Pio himself denying that he had ever spoken of 3 days of darkness. Now, don’t give this too strong a weight as it’s honestly been so wrong I could be erroneously remembering this, and of course, I don’t have anything to prove it to you at this time.
But what time should I set my alarm clock for?
I should like to add that the Church cannot bind one to believe even the most credible private apparition, i.e. Fatima.
Tim+
I agree with Lynne…
I sometimes hear of quotes or stories that are attributed to a particula saint only to discover that it is from an completely DIFFERENT saint. Perhaps someone may have heard a sermon from St. Padre Pio in which he remarked on Anna Maria Taigi’s prophecy and had is subsequently attributed to him?
I thought only Marcial Maciel plagerized writings! 🙂
Thank you for this story. Studying the scientific documents that do refer to “three days of darkness” this phenomina has been potentially attributed to: darkness over the earth after a catastrophic collision of planets; darkness due to our own warfare on the planet; both of which have happened in ancient times.
It should be noted that one need not go to dubious writings to determine whether the world is in serious trouble. Authenticated messages from Fatima, St. Faustina and Aikia make it very clear that we are in the End Days. A quick glance at the Biblical writings concerning the End Days ought to make us run to Confession and begin living a holy life.
Allan:
From the perspective of God, we have always been living in the End Times, and always will be, until the End actually comes. One needn’t look for signs of the imminent end of the world…a quick glance at the state of our own souls ought to make us run to Confession and begin living a holy life, whether the world ends tomorrow or endures for billions more years.
Hi, Jimmy –
God bless. The only one that I have read who made the prophecy of the 3 days of darkness was Blessed Anna Maria Taigi. She lived 1769-1837. this is what she wrote during her life:
“God will send two punishments: one will be in the form of wars, revolutions and other evils; it shall originate on earth. The other will be sent from Heaven. There shall come over the whole earth an intense darkness lasting three days and three nights. Nothing can be seen, and the air will be laden with pestilence which will claim mainly, but not only, the enemies of religion. It will be impossible to use any man-made lighting during this darkness, except blessed candles. He, who out of curiosity, opens his window to look out, or leaves his home, will fall dead on the spot. During these three days, people should remain in their homes, pray the Rosary and beg God for mercy.
“All the enemies of the Church, whether known or unknown, will perish over the whole earth during that universal darkness, with the exception of a few whom God will soon convert. The air shall be infected by demons who will appear under all sorts of hideous forms.” (Prophecy of Blessed Anna Maria Taigi (1769-1837 A.D.) who was Beatified by Pope Bendedict XV in 1920.)
I don’t know of any other individual up for beatification who made this prophecy. I know St. Pio didn’t. Hope this helps.
As to Bl. Anna Maria Taigi– I would like to see good documentation on the asserted prophecy. I have seen and read this over the years but have not found other that websites without good sources or for that matter any sources and quotes in a book on prophecy which still does not seem enough.
For example one website I found had a page that was said to be from the Catholic Encylopedia –and indeed the text was…with something about three days of darkness right there in the text ….but wait I went to the actual source and found that the actual encyclopedia did NOT include this section on a three days of darkness….so it was added by someone along the way….but NOT actually there…and then these things get passed on by others.
So I must say I would like to see actual accounts of this from a stable source.
As I wrote the above I recalled another source “Wife Mother and Mystic” by Bessieres S J– I went to see if he mentions these things. He does but in a note and with what seems to be in criticism of them. Calls them “assertions” of particular Priest quoted by another author. Bessieres says that there were other problems with some other like assertions. In any case he also says ‘”Let us reflect that the Church does not take count of all the prophecies and visions of saints, even if they are supposed to be authentic.” (184). So it seems even in the past there is some question regarding these assertions.
B. Anna Maria was a Trinitarian Tertiary and as Trinitarian Tertiary myself who has been a few times to her tomb in Rome and who has never run across such accounts in our own Trinitarian sources (not much in English I must add…I have some in Italian but can not read them) –I would like to see more. (she was of course very gifted with extraordinary things and very holy) And even if they are authentic –there is a question of translation and the way that ‘visions’ are reported which can be highly symbolic. (See Cardinal Ratzinger on this — regarding Fatima).
Another example how errors get repeated….many will say her body is still incorrupt (which can happen). This to my understanding is not the case …her bones are now in a model of her body… but people keep saying this is and showing pictures of her tomb! Of her body as being well perserved…well it is not her body it is a model of her body as it was. She was incorrupt –but not all those found to be incorrupt stay that way once they are removed from the tomb etc (if supernatural-the sign served its purpose).
So with Jimmy I can say –check the sources! 🙂
When I was in 8th grade my C.C.D. teacher talked at length about the three days of darkness. She also gave us scapulars with a piece of pink cloth sewed on them. This woman told us that only people who wore one of these would not be duped by the demons who would be running about during that time and impersonating people we know… do you think my parish should have done a bit of research into who they were hiring and what they were teaching?
The Three Days Darkness is mentioned in this Newadvent article as attributed to Blessed Anna Maria Taigi: http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/12473a.htm
I have no idea whether Padre Pio prophesied it also.
The Padre Pio quotation is more than likely false…it is just so weakly supported. As for St. (Bl? She is canonized) Anna-Maria Taigi…her beatification papers are tremendous…thousands of pages long, and her prophecies are supposedly contained in them, but honestly, nevermind that …regarding the three days of darkness and all related prophecies Bl. Anna-Maria Taigi, as holy as she was, is one of the LEAST of the testimonies, especially Padre Pio. These two saints are not the primary witnesses or prophets in this subject matter…far from it.
To my knowledge Padre Pio was commenting on the prophesie alledgely made by the Blessesd Mother in Garabandal Spain in the 1960’s. For more information google the Garabandal Journal.
And your knowledge is based on what evidence? (That was Jimmy’s point).
It is not St. Anna Maria but “Blessed”…
again …the source of the 1912 encyclopedia can still be the source that may still have some doubt about it…for sources often pick up the same info and pass it on….
There are also some sources that claim that Bl. Anna had a brief adulterous affair early in her marriage with an older man. Not all sources mention this if indeed it is true.
I also recall that the three days of darkness were related to some marian apparition like Garabandal.
20 years ago we went to a Padre Pio presentation where we were shown an allegedly miraculous photo. Apparently some person approached St. Padre Pio and took a picture of him. When the photo was developed the image was the face of the suffering Christ with the crown of thorns BUT with Padre Pio’s facial features!
never heard of such a thing…though many St’s were grave sinners before conversion …i doubt that this was the case
Just because St. Padre Pio did not make this prophecy does not mean the prophecy is to be dismissed. Bl. Anna Maria Taigi is not the only person in history to make this prophecy either. There are numerous prophecies occurring in different periods that talk, in various ways (some coded, some clear) of a three days darkness. Most are attributed to individuals; while some are attributed simply to a place. And always remember prophecies are given according to the capacity of the receiver of the vision (the person may not get all of the vision right, sometimes through faulty interpretation)
There are also more non-specific references to a darkness sounding much like the three days in Scripture.
Bl. Casper del Bufalo (1837):
He foretold “the destruction of impenitent persecutors of the Church during the three days darkness. He who outlives the darkness and fear of the three days – it will seem to him as if he were alone on earth because of the fact that the world will be covered everywhere with carcasses.”
Bl. Maria Taigi (1837):
“God will ordain two punishments: One, in the form of wars, revolutions and other evils, will originate on earth; the other will be sent from Heaven. There shall come over all the earth an intense darkness lasting three days and three nights. Nothing will be visible and the air will be laden with pestilence, which will claim principally but not exclusively the enemies of religion. During this darkness artificial light will be impossible. Only blessed candles can be lighted and will afford illumination. He who out of curiosity opens his window to look out or leaves the house will fall dead on the spot. During these three days the people should remain in their homes, pray the Rosary and beg God for mercy.
“On this terrible occasion so many of these wicked men, enemies of His Church, and of their God, shall be killed by this divine scourge, that their corpses round Rome will be as numerous as the fish, which a recent inundation of the Tiber had carried into the city. All the enemies of the Church, secret as well as known, will perish over the whole earth during that universal darkness, with the exception of some few, whom God will soon after convert. The air shall be infected by demons, who will appear under all sorts of hideous forms.”
Prophecy of Mayence (1854):
“Woe to thee great city (Paris): woe to thee, city of vice! Fire and sword shall succeed fire and famine. Courage faithful souls! The reign of the dark shadow shall not have time to execute all its schemes. But the time of mercy approaches. A prince of the nation is in your midst. It is the man of salvation, the wise, the invincible, he shall count his enterprises by his victories. He shall drive the enemy out of France, he shall march from victory to victory, until the day of divine justice. That day he shall command seven kinds of soldiers against three to the quarter of Bouleaux between Ham, Woerl, and Padenborn. (Westphalia.) Woe to thee, people of the North, thy seventh generation shall answer for all thy crimes. Woe to the people of the East, thou shalt spread afar the cries of affliction and innocent blood. Never shall such and army be seen. Three days the sun shall rise upwards on the heads of the combatants without being seen through the clouds of smoke. Then the commander shall get the victory; two of his enemies shall be annihilated; the remainder of the three shall fly toward the extreme East.”
Palma Maria d’Oria (1863):
“There will be an attempt of the sectaries to establish a republican government in France, Spain, and Italy; a civil war will, in consequence, break out in those countries, accompanied by other dreadful punishments, as pestilences and famine the massacre of priests, and also of some dignitaries of the church. Rome shall have to endure severe trials from the malice of wicked men. But at the critical moment, when the rebellious Republicans shall attempt to take possession of the Holy City, they shall be suddenly arrested at the gates and forced to fly away in terror, crushed under the deadly blows of the exterminating angel, who, in behalf of the Israelites, destroyed 185,000 men of Sennacherib’s army.
“There shall be a three days darkness, during which the atmosphere will be infected by innumerable devils, who shall cause the death of large multitudes of incredulous and wicked men.
“Blessed candles alone shall be able to give light and preserve the faithful Catholics from this impending dreadful scourge. Supernatural prodigies shall appear in the heavens. There is to be a short but furious war, during which the enemies of religion and of mankind shall be universally destroyed. A general pacification of the world, and the universal triumph of the Church are to follow.”
Sister Mary of Jesus Crucified of Pau (1878):
“All states will be shaken by war and civil conflict. During a darkness lasting three days the people given to evil ways will perish o that only one-fourth of mankind will survive. The clergy, too, will be greatly reduced in number, as most of them will die in defense of the faith or of their country.”
Marie Julie Jahenny of La Faudais (1891):
“There will come three days of continuous darkness. The blessed candle of wax alone will give light during the horrid darkness. One candle will last for three days, but in houses of the Godless they will not give light. During those three days the demons will appear in abominable and horrible forms, they will make the air resound with shocking blasphemies. The lightning will penetrate the homes, but will not extinguish the light of the blessed candles; neither wind nor storm nor earthquake will extinguish it. Red clouds like blood will pass in the sky, the crash of thunder will make the earth tremble; lightning will flash through the streets at an unusual time of the year; the earth will tremble to its foundations; the ocean will cast its foaming waves over the land; the earth will be changed to an immense cemetery; the corpses of the wicked and the just will cover the face of the earth. The famine that follows will be great. All vegetation will be destroyed as well as three-fourths of the human race. The crisis will come all of a sudden and chastisement will be world wide.”
Sr. Elena Aiello:
Clouds with lightning rays of fire and a tempest of fire will pass over the whole world and the punishment will be the most terrible ever known in the history of mankind. It will last 70 hours. The wicked will be crushed and eliminated. Many will be lost because they have stubbornly remained in their sins. Then they will feel the force of light over darkness. The hours of darkness are near.
Jesus to St. Faustina:
“Before I come as the just judge, I am coming first as the King of Mercy. Before the day of justice arrives, there will be given to people a sign in the heavens of this sort: “All light in the heavens will be extinguished, and there will be great darkness over the whole earth. Then the sign of the cross will be seen in the sky, and from the openings where the hands and the feet of the Savior were nailed will come forth great lights which will light up the earth for a period of time. This will take place shortly before the last day.”
And your sources are? (That was Jimmy’s point).
“The Prophets and Our Times”
By Rev. R. Gerald Culleton
Originally published 1941.
I’m not making a case for the three days darkness. I’m merely pointing out that there are many more prophecies concerning three days darkness than just the one.
I added the St. Faustina one just for kicks.
The source for the St. Faustina quote is her diary (in the section known as Notebook 1). Jesus appeared to her, and in the late 1930’s commanded her to keep a diary of His words to her, that will be useful in the end times to remind people of His mercy, which had largely been forgotten.
And indeed, it is only now, since about 2000, that her diary is becoming better known, largely or maybe totally through the efforts of John Paul II. He died on the Divine Mercy Sunday eve, by the way (and the first Saturday of the month, too – as in the Fatima devotion of first Saturdays) .
Our Lord told St. Faustina in the 1930’s that He wanted the Sunday after to Easter to be known as the Feast of Divine Mercy – now, under the auspices of John Paul II, if you look in your Sunday Church missal you will see that particular Sunday listed as such – it has been officially named such. John Paul II was also responsible for St. Faustina’s canonization, and he said a few years before he died that his work towards the “Divine Mercy” was his greatest accomplishment.
Her book with that days of darkness quote is:
Divine Mercy In my Soul
The Diaryof the Servant of God
Sister M. Faustina Kowalska
Perpetually Professed member of the Congregation of Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy
The quote once again is below -the one who says ‘write this’ is Jesus Himself:
Quote
“Write this: before I come as the just Judge, I am coming first as the King of Mercy. Before the day of justice arrives, there will be given to people a sign in the heavens of this sort.
“All light in the heavens will be extinguished, and there will be great darkness over the whole earth. Then the sign of the cross will be seen in the sky, and from the openings where the hands and the feet of the Savior were nailed will come forth great lights which will light up the earth for a period of time. This will take place shortly before the last day.”
O Blood and Water, which gushed forth from the Heart of Jesus as a fount of Mercy, for us, I trust in You!
End Quote
More from “Divine Mercy In my Soul The Diary of the Servant of God Sister M. Faustina Kowalska” written in the 1930’s:
quote
As I was praying for Poland, I heard the words: I bear a special love for Poland, and if she will be obedient to My will, I will exalt her in might and holiness. From her will come forth the spark that will prepare the world for My final coming.”
endquote
quote
May, 1935. A Certain Moment.
When I became aware of God’s great plans for me, I was frightened at their greatness and felt myself quite incapable of fulfilling them…When on one occasion…I heard these words spoken distinctly and forcefully within my soul, “You will prepare the world for My final coming.”
endquote
quote
October 5, 1936. …How great is this work of the Most High God! I am but His instrument. Oh, how ardently I desire to see this Feast of the Divine Mercy which God is demanding through me. But if it is the will of God that it be celebrated solemnly only after my death, even so I rejoice in it already, and I celebrate it interiorly with my confessor’s permission.
endquote
And info about the Feast of Divine Mercy, from Wikipedia:
“The devotion was celebrated unofficially in many places for some years. On April 30, 2000 (Divine Mercy Sunday of that year), Pope John Paul II canonized St. Faustina and designated the Sunday after Easter as Divine Mercy Sunday in the General Roman Calendar, with effect from the following year. He also decreed a plenary indulgence associated with this devotion. Pope John Paul II said he felt a closeness to St. Faustina when he was writing Dives in misericordia [1]. He died during the vigil of the Divine Mercy Sunday 2005.”
There just might be something afoot here – preparations for “My final coming” and the Pope from Poland ( “From her [Poland] will come forth the spark that will prepare the world for My final coming.” being the one who instituted the Feast of Divine Mercy requested in the 1930’s by Jesus? And he did it in our time, which seems so in need of Divine help.
Her diary has dayas of darkness, but does not say THREE days of darkness. Nonetheless, we might want to take heed!
1. The spark coming from Poland does not have to be Pope John Paul II…it can be simply the Divine Mercy devotion…for it came from Poland …
2. With these sorts of private revelations…the time table can still be centuries…for one can say that this devotion and her work can be one of the ways that can prepare the world….for the final coming in the year 245985 …for the devotion is great to help one draw close to the mercy of Christ…
read http://www.ewtn.com/fatima/apparitions/third_secret/fatima.htm# Commentary by Cardinal Ratzinger (Now Benedict XVI)on Private Revelations
Those quotes are recorded in Bl Taigi’s formal
canonization papers. The book below is in French
& I believe has the official transcript recorded. I am not sure if an English version exists. There are many other blesseds & a few saints who have mentioned these 3 days by the way. Read Desmond Birch’s Book on it if you are interested.
The Canonization papers of Taigi might be in this English Bio:
Title The life of the venerable Anna Maria Taigi, the Roman matron (1769-1837)
Published London : Burns and Oates, 1873.
Description xxiii, 414 p. : front. (port.) ; 18 cm.
Vie de la vénérable Anna-Maria Taïgi : romaine (1769-1837) : membre du Tiers-Ordre de la Très-Sainte Trinité : sa vie intime, ses vertus héroiques, ses dons surnaturels, ses prédictions, ses miracles, d’après les documents authentiques du procès de béatification
Author: Calixte de la Providence.
Publisher: Tournai : Vve. H. Casterman ; Paris : Librarie internationale catholique, 1878.
Edition/Format: Book : English : 5th ed
The Prophecies that you are so evil trying to discredit are TRUE The tree days of darkness is not only a prophecy from Padre Pio but also a prophecy from Fatima given to the tree little shepphards by our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary at Cove de Iria Portugal I have in my possession such document. Man are blinded this poor creatures still believe that with all the evil that is in world they can continue to live on .I have news for you .The tree days of darkness are just around the corner waiting for God’s orders
I know I’m being redundant but: “And your evidence is? (That was Jimmy’s point).