A Look Back at the Messages of Pedro Regis

There have been some interesting events happening in the world that continue to draw people to the messages of Pedro Regis, a purported seer of Marian apparitions in Brazil.

Many of these things have been fairly well documented, but in summary: (1) there was a prediction of a crisis in the Church prior to the latest scandal that swept Europe. (2) There was a prediction of an earthquake in Chile. (3) There was what many believe was a prediction of the earthquake in Haiti (Haiti was not specifically named, but some have said that his use of “land of the mountains” is a direct reference). (4) In January, there was a prediction of death in Guatemala, and recently a major Tropcial Storm killed hundreds of people. (5) Also in January, he predicted that Madeira would be devastated, and weeks later major flooding did devastate the island. (6) A reader noted to me that in January he said “something sad will happen in Sao Paolo.” She suggested that the recent “gay pride” parade attracted over 3 million people. Spiritually speaking, this is a sad event. Realistically, the message is vague enough that it is difficult to know whether or not this is what he referred to (it’s not a new event, it was the 14th year, so it’s not exactly something that could be categorized as a prediction of an unknown). (7) In March, he referenced a “great gap” that will get the attention of the whole world. It was one of those “what could this mean?” phrases. The same reader suggested the sinkhole in Guatemala. I’m not sure if that’s what this meant because the message seems more tied to Brazil, but in any case it highlights the fact that even if it’s referring to something else, weird things actually happen, and we probably don’t want to dismiss what sounds like a ludicrous prediction out of hand just because we don’t understand it. ( 8 ) Also in March, he said the following, which now looks like a remarkably direct hit: “Death will pass on the coast of the Golf (sic), and will leave a great trail of destruction.” Not only were there fatalities from the initial explosion of the rig, but there are plenty of animal deaths. And the oil spill is devastating the entire region along hundreds of miles of coastline.

These range from amazingly precise to vague possibilities. And we need to honest about their levels of accuracy, while still pointing out that discernment is a must. Many other messages contain prophetic messages that have not yet come true, and only time will tell whether or not these also come to pass. It’s already obvious that preconceptions don’t always explain things. I probably would have not guessed that death and destruction in the Gulf could refer to an explosion on an oil rig that led to an oil leak. It sounded like a hurricane to me, which is not an unusual event. The oil spill is unusual enough to bump this prophetic statement up on the credibility scale, in my opinion.

At some point, I’ll update my previous post that highlights the prophetic messages from September 2009 through April 2010, but for now I want to take a look back at his older messages.

Why? Because it would be a mistake to ignore previous prophecies if they were consistently mistaken, and so I believe it is important to review all the reported messages. Following is a summary of all the messages from the beginning – October 1987 through June 1994. As I continue to work through them, I’ll provide updates of my thoughts and findings.

General Summary:
What I find very interesting is that there are almost zero specific prophecies in the messages during the considered time frame. It will be interesting as I continue to advance through the years to see when a shift in the nature of his messages occurred. There is little to be found by way of specific prediction through June 1994.

The messages, overall, can be considered to be spiritual direction and guidance. This period of time covers over 800 messages. Quite honestly, those messages – with a few exceptions – can be condensed to the following points/themes. These concepts are repeated throughout the messages in some manner:

1) Appeal for conversion: conversion can bring peace to the world, and can allow avoidance of future chastisement (thus it appears chastisement prophecies are conditional).
2) The state of the world: Mankind is worse now than at the time of the flood. The world is headed towardes a great abyss, and without conversion it will be too late to stop it. The messages refer to Fatima, and more generally things stated by Mary “in the past”, by stating that the times foretold are near, or in some cases already here.
3) Prayer: We must pray more. Pray the Rosary. Conscrate yourself to the Immaculate Heart. Few pray, and this has grave consequences on humanity. Pray for the Pope.
4) Seriousness of the messages: nothing is an obligation, but instead a call. But the messages are serious (no joke) and the messages should be spread.
5) We are loved: Mary and Jesus love us so much we simply can’t comprehend it. Mary is our mother. Mary will help us if we heed her messages.
6) Obedience to the Church: Follow Catholic Church teachings and the Ecclesiastical leaders. Do not follow false ideologies or those who teach error. Participate with devotion in the Holy Mass.
7) Invocations: She calls herself the Queen of Peace. She invokes the names of the Holy Trinity at the end of each message.
8 ) Spiritual Direction/Call to Action: Be attentive. Be careful not to fall into traps of the devil. Have courage; don’t fear anything, despite your weaknesses. Great things await you. Be honest, and be a witness to the Lord. Live the Gospel – hear Jesus’ words in the Gospel. Your pain will be transformed into great joy. Renounce sin. Jesus will one day return in a glorious way.
9) Relationship with Jesus: Call on Jesus at all times. He is your friend. Have confidence in Him, and feel His love. Confide in Him. You are precious in His eyes. You can be sure that victory will belong to the Lord. Even with questions with no answer or unresolved problems, the Lord will not abandon you.
10) Urgency: Do not put off until tomorrow what you can do today. Mary and God are both said to be in a hurry – there is no time to lose.
11) Living in this World: Don’t let the things of this world distract you. Lead a simple life. Don’t let material things get in the way. Don’t be preoccupied with problems – let God solve them.

Basically, this is what the vast majority of those 800+ messages can be condensed down to, from a spiritual perspective. I’m always curious about seers, like those in Medjugore, who get so many messages that say nearly the same thing. I know I’ve mentioned that before, but it’s one of those sticking points in my minute brain that I have a difficult time getting past.

It is vitally important to note that the main purpose of the messages during this time period were of a spiritual nature. It is very easy to get caught up in the more spectacular curiosities of the predective elements of messages, and so it can be easy to overlook the primary message that is being given. It is also very important to take the time to review and understand the spiritual aspects of these messages, because if there is a heretical aspect to them, then as a matter of discernment, it is best to stay away from them.

I am not a seminary-scholared theologian, but it is my perspective that all these themes/directives/points/whatever you wish to call them are well in line with Catholic teaching, and there is nothing troubling about them. Not only are they consistent with Catholic teaching, but they are edifying to the faith. Perhaps the one area of uncertainty is whether or not the world today is truly worse than the flood. I, for one, don’t doubt that. And while it may make for a fun debate, I’m guessing few of us can trace our lineage back to Noah, so we’ll never know anyway.

The following is a list of the parts of the messages during that time frame that are prophetic in nature. However, not every instance of references to prophetic events are included here. I did not include many duplicate statements that provided no additional information. So, just know that there are many similar statements sprinkled throughout the messages during this time period. I am quite sure I did not miss anything that isn’t included in one of the messages here.

General Prophetic Statements from October 1987 – June 1994:
There are no specific regions mentioned in any prophecy by Pedro Regis during this time, with the exception that there are allusions to Brazil (which is the home country of the seer), and one instance of a reference to Paris (which seems to be referenced because Pedro was visiting at the time). Most of what follows are what I call the “general prophecies” for the period reviewed. Many of these appear to be conditional, meaning that prayer and conversion could mitigate or even eliminate certain events:

Here in Brazil, the Holy Church is in danger of losing the true faith, and to avoid this, priests and bishops must unite themselves to the Holy Father. Many errors are being spread within the Holy Church,, and these errors are caused by shepherds who are not united to the Pope. I ask you, dear children, to pray much for priests, for many of them will lose the faith. Satan, the father of lies, and priests will be the target of his vengeance. June 29, 1988

The world is at the brink of great catastrophies. July 2, 1988

If priests and bishops don’t obey the Holy Father, the Holy Church could lose the true faith. July 9, 1988

The crisis fermenting in my church will come to open rebellion, coming especially from many of my Sons who participate in the priesthood of My Son Jesus. July 16, 1988

The time is near when one brother will kill another, and a father will kill his own son. Many will repent of a life lived without God, but it will be too late. Be prepared, for the time of great events is coming; the time when great secrets revealed by me in various appearances throughout the world, will be realized. September 27, 1988

Now the moments of sorrowful purification are approaching you. Very soon apostasy will become apparent. December 17, 1988

If there be not a general return to God on your part, a great punishment will befall your country. January 1, 1989

Mankind is now at the vespers of the most terrible scourges and punishments. January 10, 1989

The world is in great stress and at the edge of great catastrophies. Soon there will be grave conflicts, but the just will gain the advantage. Peace in the world is in crisis. January 24, 1989

Humanity is at the brink of the destruction that it can provoke with its own hands. What I foretold to you in Fátima for this century has already begun. There is the danger for humanity of a new world war. I feel a great affliction for what awaits you, my poor innocent children, so threatened by hunger, war, hatred and violence. This is a terribly painful time for you. Pray and do penance. The punishment will come only if mankind does not convert. August 12, 1989

The angels in heaven are with sword in hand to annihilate those who corrode the earth. Woe to those who don’t repent and change their lives. You are a perverse generation and call upon yourselves the chastising hand that will not delay to strike you. If you don´t convert, without a doubt a punishment will come worse than the flood, such as never has been seen. Fire will fall from heaven and a great part of humanity will be destroyed…The church will be persecuted as never before and the Holy Father will suffer much. Pray for him. The vicar of My Son will have to suffer much, because the church will be victim of great persecutions. This will be the time of darkness, and the church will pass through a horrible crisis. October 24, 1989

If men are not converted, fire will fall from heaven and a great part of humanity will be destroyed. June 23, 1992

(in Paris) If you don´t convert, God will send a great punishment on your city. Fire will fall from heaven and Paris will be destroyed. What I predicted in former times will happen because the appeal I made here was not put in practice. I don´t say when this will happen, but from the way you live, the wrath of God will be anticipated, and you will be taken by surprise. June 30, 1992

Behold the time is coming for the great happenings which I announced in the past. Pray. THE WRATH OF GOD WILL NOT DELAY TO BEFALL YOU. September 19, 1992

when the chastisement from heavens comes, you won´t be able to bear it. October 10, 1992

I ask you once again to pray for the pope, because now, more that ever, he will suffer much. The church will pass through great trials, but fear not. My Jesus will always be present. Pray, pray, pray. What I have foretold you in the past is about to happen. December 15, 1992

All the means of communication that work to destroy the plans of God will be laid waste by the wrath of God which will come as a great bolt of lightning and everything will be destroyed. March 16, 1993

You live in a time worse the times of the flood, and if you aren´t converted, a great punishment will befall humanity. July 6, 1993

Be faithful to your church. Obey the Pope John Paul II. The world will be involved in a great scandal, and those who do not obey the Pope will not bear it. So listen to what your ecclesiastical superiors tell you. Participate in the Holy Mass with joy and devotion. Always confess when you feel the need to have a your soul purified. Find time to pray. The world goes badly because there are few who pray. A great chastisement is about to fall upon humanity. January 18, 1994

When everything seems lost, a great victory of The Lord will appear. May 13, 1994

References to events within a year, with respect to Fatima:
There are a couple curious statements regarding the immediate events of the world being related to Fatima. It has no been made clear what events during that time would specifically be those related by the Blessed Mother at Fatima. For discernment:

Within this year will happen great events which I foretold in Fátima. August 30, 1988
Great events which I foretold in Fátima will happen this year. September 10, 1988
Great events which I have foretold in Fátima will happen this year. January 1, 1990

A sign, or manifestation:
I will give you a sign. This sign certainly, will be visible and palpable. But be converted now. Don’t wait for the sign to be converted. The sign will be given, you can be sure. February 5, 1991

You are anxious for the sign I promised. Pray. I will give you this sign (promised in message 376) even if all convert as I desire. After this sign, many unbelievers will come to believe in My presence here. May 28, 1991

So I will manifest Myself here in an extraordinary way to convince the incredulous. June 22, 1993

Comment: I have no idea if any “sign” was ever given. Nothing was referenced in any later messages, at least through June 1994.

A special group to be formed:
Prepare yourselves because here in the future I will form a group of which I myself will be the spiritual director of each one of the participants. January 18, 1992

Comment: I have no idea if this ever came to fruition. Nothing was referenced in any later messages, at least through June 1994.

A reference to a future time of peace:
Very soon the world will be transformed into a new world, without hate or violence. The world will be a new garden and all will live happily. October 8, 1988

Dear Sons and Daughters, what I foretold in Fátima is about to happen, and so the time of the great triumph of My Immaculate Heart has come. October 13, 1990

Comment: a number of saints prophesy about an era of peace that comes after a great chastisement, but prior to the actual end of the time of a final Antichrist and ultimate return of Christ. This may be consistent with that.

Three Days of Darkness:
THERE WILL BE THREE CONSECUTIVE DAYS OF DARKNESS THAT NOT EVEN SCIENCE WILL KNOW HOW TO EXPLAIN. ALL OF YOU WILL SUFFER MUCH IN THESE DAYS. I PROMISE TO ALL WHO ARE AT MY SIDE THAT THEY WILL NOT LACK LIGHT. I ASK YOU TO ALWAYS KEEP CANDLES BLESSED BY A PRIEST IN YOUR HOUSE. December 3, 1988

Comment: A few saints have previously prophesied regarding a period of three days of darkness, and those same saints have talked about blessed candles. So, this is not new. It is the only reference to this event in the period of time we’re looking at here. Compared to the rest of the messages, this seems somewhat odd and out of place. For discernment.

Finally, though, it is fair to look at the instances of troubling items. The first one is not a prophecy of the future, but a statement about Protestantism. Here is the quote:

“Many people go to protestant churches thinking they are of God. They are wrong. The people who take part in these are on the way to perdition for sure. Dear children, the religion founded by My Son, and which is of living faith, is Catholic. The rest are from the devil” April 9, 1988

Let’s examine this. Let us first recognize that, as Catholics, we do believe that we have the fullness of truth, to the extent known and available to us, in our Catholic faith. Also, we believe that the Reformation was in error, and that the concepts of sola scriptura and sola fide are in error.

However, our Church does NOT teach us that the phrase “salvation is through the Catholic Church” means that anyone who is not Catholic is going to hell. Nor does our Church teach that people in these Churches are not of God. They may have some doctrinal flaws, but there are some very good, courageous, and devout Christians in non-Catholic churches, who I would be very hard-pressed to say are on their way to “perdition.”

It is probably true that the devil played a hand in the process of dividing the Church and Christian unity. But that is different from saying that all Christian denominations other than Catholic are “from the devil.”

The next, and possibly more serious example of concern appears to be a blatantly missed prophecy that was given more than once, regarding the martyrdom of Pope John Paul II.

I ask you to pray for the Pope because the hour of his martyrdom is coming closer. The church will lose a great treasure, but those who were faithful to My Jesus will remain firm. Pray. Pray for the Pope, the successor to the chair of Peter. He will have to suffer much. Pray and do penance. If men and women are not converted, fire will come from heaven and it will be late. The danger of a new world war is closer and closer. I am sad because of what awaits you. January 2, 1993

Above all, pray for the Holy Father who now suffers more than ever. Pray for the church that will lose this great treasure. February 5, 1993

Continue to pray for the Pope, above all now, as his hour of martyrdom draws nearer. February 8, 1993

Pray for the Holy Father, for the hour of his martyrdom is now coming closer… If you are not converted, a great chastisement will fall upon humanity, so be converted. June 29, 1993

From the “benefit of the doubt” camp: On Protestantism: Perhaps this is a translation issue. All these messages are given in Portuguese and later translated into English. Also, keep in mind that the seer here is not infallible. It is possible also that Mary expressed concerns about Christian unity and the importance of following the Catholic faith, and perhaps even admonished those who leave the faith for a number of reasons. The seer may have very clumsily and erroneously passed on the message she was trying to get across. It is the only such message like this, and it was very early on, so perhaps there was a difficulty in expression in an isolated instance. On the Pope: could be a translation issue in use of martyrdom. Truly, he did suffer much. He suffered for the Church, and this may be what was implied. It could also be that these were conditional statements. After all, there is an admonishment to pray, which could imply that prayer may affect the outcome. Edited note: A commenter, Matt, points out to me that Pope John Paull II is not specifically mentioned. The word “now” indicates to me that, at least in that one message, she was referring to JPII. However, one viewpoint on this is that the martyrdom being spoken of here is still a future event, and that the Pope in the messages is not specifically related to an individual, but of whoever the shepherd is in the Papacy at the time of fulfillment of this message.

From the “skeptics” camp:This is a very strong indication, if not proof, that there is a problem with the seer and his messages. It is an indication of confabulation, or at worst deceit. It may be a strong indication that we should not follow this seer or give him undeserved credibility. The simple fact is one statement is of dubious doctrinal merit and the other looks to be a distinctive “miss.”

This is where discernment comes into play. I don’t take these issues lightly, but I also do understand that there could be some possible explanations for them. I will definitely keep them in mind as I proceed through the remaining messages. As of June 1994, there were no statements in the messages that alluded to any kind of mitigation due to prayer, or for any other reason.

In full disclosure, I lean more towards the “benefit of the doubt” camp, with some caveats: (1) should the Church ever rule on these messages or the authenticity of the apparition, I defer to that judgment as the final word, and (2) I have a long way to go in studying the messages, and there may be more problematic things that change my mind, and (3) again, I just have a problem with hte concept that Mary feels it’s necessary to visit somebody 2-3 times a week and usually say the same thing she did a week ago. Despite that, I fully accept that I don’t fully understand God and His way of doing things, so I can accept that it’s just not for me to understand and I can live with that.