Sensational reports of apocalyptic conditions are circulating on the Internet in which only Catholics could be saved. Alois Irlmaier, Padre Pio and Anna Maria Taigi serve as prophetic figureheads for “3 Days of Darkness”. But not even the Catholic Church itself knows anything about such fairy tales.
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Pseudo-prophecy about 3 days of darkness
In the vastness of the Internet, especially on social media, there are obviously so many hoax reports circulating within Catholic circles about a “prophesied darkness for 3 days and 3 nights” that even the large Catholic US magazine “catholic.com” has a position to these activities (Source). Among the “prophets” that are repeatedly cited is “Padre Pio”, who is said to have predicted the “3-day darkness”. Consecrated candles and praying the rosary in rows are stated as the means of survival for every “true Catholic”. (“You shall not babble like the Gentiles” – Info).
The story “Three Days of Darkness”
“Three days of darkness” will come to humanity, according to the statement from the “darkness apologists”, which has obviously been adopted without examination. A leading figure for such theses is the mystic Anna Maria Taigi. She lived between 1768 and 1837. Her prediction is quoted as:
“A deep darkness will come over the whole earth and will last for three days and three nights. Everything will be pitch black and the air will be polluted. This plague will attack those who are enemies of the [Catholic] religion. Without blessed candles it will be impossible to bring artificial light into this darkness. Anyone who opens the window or leaves the house out of curiosity will die on the spot. During these three days, people should stay in their homes, pray the rosary and ask God for mercy. All enemies of the Church, known and unknown, will perish throughout the earth during this universal darkness, except for a few whom God will soon convert. The demons will contaminate the air in all sorts of hideous forms.“
Alois Irlmaier jumped into the same boat
Anyone who is familiar with the German “seer” Alois Irlmaier (1894-1959) and his “predictions” will find Taigi’s “prophecies” very familiar. It seems as if the dowser Irlmaier used the writings of Anna Maria Taigi as the basis for his own “prophecies”. Anyone who is really interested in Irlmaier will find some stories about him. His predictions not only correspond to the statements of Anna Maria Taigi, but also to the events announced in the Bible.
Another mystic was Marie-Julie Jahenny (1850-1941), a contemporary of Irlmaier. She spread the theory that only candles made from 100 percent wax would help. One result of this was the big business of selling beeswax candles to Catholic households.
What does the Catholic Church say about this?
The Catholic magazine asks what could be true about these predictions and how credible they are. Above all, what does the church say about this? To the last question, the answer is short and succinct: “nothing”. The term or the connection with “three days of darkness” does not appear anywhere on the Vatican website. These “three days of darkness” are not a subject of Catholic teaching.
Some of the apologists also refer to the statement in Exodus 10:21-29, which reports the ninth plague on Egypt. But this three-day eclipse is an event that happened long ago and not a prediction in the future. Another reference from the Bible is the sixth seal and the fifth bowl according to the book of Revelation.
Although there is reference to darkness in both passages in the Bible, it does not refer to the duration of 3 days. Furthermore, and here the Catholic magazine itself loses its way, the two events in Revelation “most likely” dealt with events that happened early in church history. This is a “highly Catholic error,” but a different topic (Info).
Neither the Bible nor the doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church describes anything about an eclipse lasting 3 days.
In search of the origins
Now where does this hoax report come from? An attempted explanation that could be read was:
“The origin of the prophecy is unclear, but it has been attributed to a number of saints and mystics throughout history. Some believe it comes from St. Hildegard of Bingen, while others attribute it to St. Patrick or St. Teresa of Attribute to Avila.”
Yet in the writings of these named “saints” there is no mention of a prediction of “three days of darkness.” Apparently, according to the magazine, an attempt was made to give this story a touch of antiquity. Because Patrick lived in the 4th century, Hildegard lived in the 11th century and Teresa lived in the 16th century. The “three days of darkness” idea seems to be a more recent idea.
Padre Pio – An Apologist Figurehead
In addition to Alois Irlmaier, the supporters of this hoax report also made the “Saint” Pio of Pietrelcina (Padre Pio, 1887-1968) a figurehead. Padre Pio prophesied the “three days of darkness,” according to the apologists. Often quoted, but never with a verifiable source. The Capuchin order, to which Pio belonged, has denied that Pio ever made such a prediction, according to catholic.com. Someone here probably tried to give this prediction credibility by putting it in the mouth of a “saint,” according to the author of the statement.
The author in catholic.com did a little more research into Padre Pio. He came across Desmond Birch, author of Trial, Tribulation, & Triumph. It is a 600-page book about prophetic ideas. Birch researched the authorship and authenticity of predictions. He writes in his book on page 283:
“1. Padre Pio did not predict three days of darkness [Highlighted in original]”
“There are printed materials with prophecies about three days of darkness that attribute such a prophecy to Padre Pio. But the author [i.e. Birch] has affidavit documents from the Capuchin Order which show that no such prophecy ever came from Padre Pio. All Attempts by the author to trace an authentic source of Padre Pio have led to the conclusion that; [sic] Some persons have either accidentally or intentionally made these attributions of such a prophecy to Padre Pio.“
Taigi message built on sand
As for the mystic Anna Maria Taigi, her words are attributed to a book called “Private Prophecy” (1863). But there is a problem with the verification. Neither Google Books nor Archive.org is aware of this book. This applies to the title “Private Prophecy” as well as in the modified plural form “Private Prophecies”. Another variant is “Profezie Private” (Italian). But here too there is nothing there. These titles do not exist.
Doggedness of the homeless
Considering some of the appearances on social media, it is still surprising how eagerly some people not only take such fairy tales at face value, but also doggedly defend them. Yes, even demonize criticism and respond to any contradiction with “poison and bile”.
The final darkness that comes to an inhabited earth, which is predicted in the Bible, corresponds to the fifth plague (Info). However, this is not a world-wide darkness, but rather described as the darkness over the “kingdom of the beast”.
But in this case it is completely pointless to unpack the rosaries and wax candles. Because it is far too late to change anything about your own situation, let alone save the “animal” from its fate (Info).
You can only find out the truth if you take the Bible into your own hands and read what is written in it. And not follow such market cry-like apologists, but simply ignore them. However, one can have some pity, because they call themselves Catholics, but even in this fallen institution they have no real home and are therefore homeless. It would be better for them to get out of this environment and do the will of God.
And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.
Revelation 18:4
Bible verses from King James Version
