A Statement on Fr. Michel Rodrigue – UPDATE

Dear readers,

With the passing of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, one of Fr. Michel Rodrigue’s prophecies did not occur, which refers to Benedict’s martyrdom following the devastation of Rome:

The Antichrist is in the hierarchy of the Church right now, and he has always wanted to sit in the Chair of Peter. Pope Francis will be like Peter, the apostle. He will realize his errors and try to gather the Church back under the authority of Christ, but he will not be able to do so. He will be martyred. Pope Emeritus, Benedict XVI, who still wears his papal ring,^[1]the ring, in fact, was removed and “cancelled” by the Vatican; see catholicregister.org will step in to convene a council, attempting to save the Church. I saw him, weak and frail, held up on either side by two Swiss guards, fleeing Rome with devastation all around. He went into hiding, but then was found. I saw his martyrdom. —Fr. Michel Rodrigue

This was a clear “prophetic miss”. As stated by Catholic News Service: ^[2]We have added the following news reference and photos to this update.

[Benedict XVI] stopped wearing the fisherman’s ring, one of the main symbols of the papal office, and went back to wearing an episcopal ring he wore as a cardinal. —March 7, 2013, catholicregister.org

You can clearly see from the photo of that article, compared to the ring Benedict XVI was wearing at the time of his death, are not the same:

 

While such “misses”, even from the saints, have happened (and will continue to happen), these situations must nevertheless be dealt with honestly. As St. Hannibal once wrote:

Conforming to prudence and sacred accuracy, people cannot deal with private revelations as if they were canonical books or decrees of the Holy See… For example, who could ratify in full all the visions of Catherine Emmerich and St. Brigitte, which show evident discrepancies? —St. Hannibal, letter to Fr. Peter Bergamaschi

We hasten to note, however, that this “miss” pertains only to some of the more precise details predicted by Fr. Michel, whereas the vast majority of his messages’ content (for example, the reality and imminence of the Warning, the Antichrist, the Era of Peace, etc. [see the bottom of this article]) overlaps squarely with what had already been confirmed by — and is still confirmed by — the “prophetic consensus”.^[3]We are aware that a few commentators who are critical of this website take issue with the very notion of a “prophetic consensus”, even categorically rejecting such a thing. We are frankly perplexed by their denunciation, which is not only manifestly illogical and contrary to Catholic Tradition but also in violation of the Magisterium’s call of the Faithful to “…discern and welcome in these [private] revelations whatever constitutes an authentic call of Christ or his saints to the Church.” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, §67) We take note of the plural used here by the Church — “revelations” — as well as her insistence that all valid Heavenly calls of private revelations should be welcomed. 

In all matters, both natural and supernatural, one is always well advised to seek out the consensus of qualified voices on difficult questions which are not themselves fully settled by clear Dogmas. This approach is, in fact, so fundamental to Catholic Tradition that the Church teaches that any unanimous consensus of the Fathers of the Church on matters of Faith and Morals is — by virtue of that very consensus — infallible. (Cf. Council of Trent, First Vatican Council, Unanimis Consensus Patrum, DS §1507, §3007) 

As the nature of what is coming upon the earth in the near future is anything but dogmatically settled in all of its details, it is only proper to read extensively so as to discover those points around which one finds a convergence forming — within the messages of various credible seers across the world. This is what we are doing at Countdown. Noteworthy is the fact it is precisely this regard we hold for the prophetic consensus that prevented us from ever including, for example, Pope Benedict’s martyrdom in our timeline. That was peculiar to Fr. Michel’s messages; never could any argument be made that it was part of a prophetic consensus.

To condemn seeking out the prophetic consensus even while, in general, appreciating the role of prophecy and private revelation, is tantamount to asserting that one must merely find a single seer (perhaps even a single living one), place the entirety of his confidence and care in that one person’s alleged messages, and proceed to ignore all of the other visionaries whom God has chosen to speak His words to us. This approach is not only absurd on its face, impiously disrespectful of the global action of the Holy Spirit in multitudes of souls, and a likely recipe for disaster and the generation of alleged seer-centered cults, but is also contradicted by the approach of all of the greatest minds of the Church on private revelation. 

Indeed, the notion of a “prophetic consensus” was not invented by Countdown to the Kingdom. We could scarcely begin to list all of the Catholic writers who have engaged in the same task we are undertaking with this website. (The only difference is a superficial one: they wrote books, while we are simply using a digital platform.) In fact, the “prophetic consensus” was sought out and promoted by, for example, the old Catholic Encyclopedia (its article on “Prophecy” even defers to what “all seers agree” on in relaying the surety of the Era of Peace), the many works of the unrivalled expert on mysticism and private revelation, the late great Fr. Rene Laurentin, the many works of theologian and professor Fr. Edward O’Connor, Yves Dupont (Catholic Prophecy), Fr. Charles Arminjon (whose book on prophecy St. Therese of Lisieux praised as “one of the greatest graces of my life), Fr. R Gerard Culletin (The Prophets and Our Times), Fr. Pellegrino (The Christian Trumpet), as well as many contemporary authors such as Dan Lynch, Michael Brown, Ted Flynn, Maureen Flynn, Dr. Thomas Petrisko, and too many others to list—all of whom have sought assortments of messages from likely authentic seers to discern and from which to glean a shared body of prophetic teachings.

Therefore, whoever condemns what we are seeking to do here, in compiling a “prophetic consensus,” is likewise condemning a multitude of far more authoritative voices than our own. Such content, therefore, is in no way called into question by this development.

Since an objective consideration of Fr. Michel’s messages now indicates that their prophetic dimension cannot necessarily be considered reliable, we have chosen to remove his content from this website. It is unfortunate since we also recognize the countless conversions and deepening of faith that has occurred among many of our readers through the basic teachings of Fr. Michel Rodrigue. His message, ultimately, was not about the prophecies. What his talks emphasized most was the spiritual aspect — repentance, the Rosary, Confession, the Eucharist, Consecration to the Holy Family, etc. That emphasis did, in fact, bear tremendous good fruit across the world. We thank God for these fruits and encourage all those who have experienced them to continue to nurture them: their value does not depend upon whether or not Fr. Michel’s prophecies of future events play out. (Indeed, we re-emphasize here that the Public Revelation of Jesus passed on through Sacred Tradition and Scripture provides all that is necessary for our salvation.) However, this website is foremost a “first line” of discernment of credible alleged seers. As such, we must remain obedient to Sacred Scripture to “test prophecy” and “retain what is good”, setting aside the rest. (The articles of Fr. Michel Rodrigue from his talks in 2019, and more, can still be found here, and his video talks here.) 

Please understand that we are neither claiming nor implying that Fr. Michel is a “false prophet.” It is simply now clear that he was one alleged seer who has given a prophecy that has failed. A “failed” prophet and a “false prophet” are two very different things, and we remain confident in Fr. Michel’s good intentions. He remains, to our knowledge, a priest in good standing and the Founder and Superior General of The Apostolic Fraternity of St. Benedict Joseph Labre in Québec, Canada.

We also wish to reiterate our obedience to the Church. Although it is true that Fr. Michel’s bishop had personally “disavowed” his messages, we kept their content on this site even then, due to the simple fact that this “disavowal” was not — either in content or intention — a formal condemnation of Fr. Michel’s alleged private revelations. In other words, it was not a “constat de non supernaturalitate.” Had such a decree been issued, we would have immediately removed his material from this site.

Finally, what God plans for the world does not rest on one person, nor can God’s plans be taken down by one person or a mistake; and the bulk of Fr. Rodrigue’s prophecies square firmly with the prophetic consensus, which is what Countdown to the Kingdom concerns itself primarily with. Even a brief perusal of this website’s content will show the reader seeking truth that, even with Fr. Michel’s prophecies “out of play,” so to speak, this “prophetic consensus” remains absolutely solid and reliable. For example:

 

The Warning, The Illumination of All Consciences 

(See Christine Watkins’ revised and expanded edition of The Warning: Testimonies and Prophecies of the Illumination of Conscience, which adds even more consensus to The Warning with 6 additional credible prophets of this global event. Click here.)

Other prophets who have spoken of The Warning: The Church-approved Apparitions at Heede, Germany; St. Faustina Kowalska; Servant of God, Maria Esperanza of the Church approved apparitions in Betania, Venezuela; St. Edmund Campion, Blessed Ana María Taigi, Blessed Pope Pius XI, Elizabeth Kindelmann of the bishop-approved Flame of love movement in the Church; Friar Agustín del Divion Corazon, Founder of the la Legión de San José and cofounder of Los Siervos Reparadores de los Sagrados Corazones Imprimatur, among others. 

A schism and the introduction of a false Church

Other prophets who have spoken of this: St. Francis of Assisi, Archbishop Fulton Sheen, Marie-Julie Jahenny, Luz de María de Bonilla Imprimatur; Blessed Ann Catherine Emmerich, Pedro Regis

The time of refuges

St. Francis de Sales; Lactantius (Church Father); Blessed Elisabetta Canori Mora; Luz de Maria de Bonilla Imprimatur; Fr. Stefano Gobbi (Imprimatur); and Abbé Souffrant, Fr. Constant Louis Marie Pel and Marie-Julie Jahenny (concerning part of France); Biblical precedence: Noah’s Ark; 1 Maccabees 2; Revelations 12:6

cf. Are There Physical Refuges?

cf. The Refuge For Our Times

Third World War

Blessed Elena Aiello; Fr. Stefano Gobbi of the Marian Movement of Priests; Garabandal; Luz de María de Bonilla Imprimatur

cf. When the Warning Will Come

cf. Did the Consecration of Russian Happen?

Three Days of Darkness

Blessed Elisabetta Canori Mora; Blessed Anna-Maria Taïgi; Blessed Elena Aiello; Marie-Julie Jahenny, Luz de María de Bonilla Imprimatur

The Era of Peace

Our Lady of Fatima; Servant of God Luisa Piccarreta; St. Catherine Labouré; St. Faustina Kowalska, Blessed Conchita; The Church-approved apparitions at Heede, Germany; Servant of God Cora Evans; Fr. Ottavio Michelini, Sr. Natalia of Hungary; Elizabeth Kindlemann of the bishop-approved Flame of Love movement; Gisella Cardia; Luz de María de Bonilla Imprimatur; Servant of God, Maria Esperanza; Fr. Stefano Gobbi Imprimatur; Cardinal Mario Luigi Ciappi, papal theologian for Pius XII, John XXIII, Paul VI, John Paul I, and John Paul II.

cf. The Era of Peace – Snippets from Private Revelation

cf. The Thousand Years

Regarding corroborations between Fr. Michel Rodrigue’s words and current events in the world, we can, at the present time, point to the following: social unrest, increased persecution of Christians and Christian values, dangerous “vaccines”,^[4]cf. When Seers and Science Merge the emergence of “fake food”,^[5]cf. On Fabricated Meat and the designs of The New World Order. 

 

— The Countdown Team:
Prof. Daniel O’Connor, MTh
Christine Watkins, MTS, LCSW
Mark Mallett, 8KIDS

 

References

Fr. Michel’s YouTube videos can still be found here.

Previous articles on Fr. Michel can be found here.

Read: Prophecy in Perspective