Nostradamus’ ‘prophecy’ on Cardinal Tagle

Let me first make an important correction. The name is TAG-LE, not TAGEL, as many westerners say. His full name is Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle. The CBCP issued a statement telling the faithful not to promote Tagle, as it may disrupt the conclave voting.

“It’s not prudent for the people to publicly push for Cardinal Tagle as the next pope since it may be misconstrued that the conclave can be influenced by outside forces if and when Cardinal Tagle indeed becomes the next pontiff,” Fr. Jerome Secillano, executive secretary of the CBCP Episcopal Commission on Public Affairs, said over Radio Veritas.

Let us first talk of the prophet before the prophecy. Michel de Nostredame (December 1503 — July 1566), “Latinized” as Nostradamus, was a French astrologer and physician who wrote a book in French entitled Les Prophéties (The Prophecies), published in 1555, a collection of 942 poetic quatrains supposedly predicting future events. (Source: Wikipedia). A quatrain is a poem of four lines, often having alternate rhymes.

Now, let us talk of the prophecy. The first hurdle immediately seen is the translation from French to English, which can be subject to inaccuracies or mistranslations. The second is that Nostradamus, to gain credence, wrote in the style of biblical prophecies, namely, the Book of Daniel in the Old Testament and the Book of Revelation in the New Testament. The writing style is unique, as it uses symbolic words, which are again subject to multiple interpretations.Let me quote the Nostradamus prophecy from the website that claims it is related to Cardinal Tagle, namely, “Dr. Explorer,” a relatively new unknown site with a small subscriber list of 5,730 as of this writing, 26 April 2025. The site came up with a YouTube video on the topic relating Nostradamus to Cardinal Tagle to gain valued readership, as this is a hot issue at this time.

Let me quote the site’s YouTube video on Nostradamus’ “prophecy” about Tagle. The quatrain is narrated in English.

“When the white robe falls (referring perhaps to the death of Pope Francis), a man of the islands (referring perhaps to Tagle from the Philippine archipelago), shall carry the Lord, from humble rock, he will ascend alone to guide the flock from Peter’s throne (referring to the papacy).”

The site does not say if this quote is its own translation or if they had picked it up from an English translation somewhere of the original French quatrain. Therefore, the source is muddled and must be subjected to further verification.

This seemingly gray area in the translation is not sufficient evidence of the authenticity and accuracy of the Nostradamus quatrain. So, it remains to be seen. We just have to wait for the results of the voting of the Conclave.

The video goes on at length to paint a portrait of Cardinal Tagle and the history of his ascendency.

“Insiders reveal that Pope Francis had privately linked Tagle as his chosen successor.” The word “insider” is vague and does not point to a specific person(s). Tagle was Pope Francis’ “preferred successor.” Throughout the video, the narrator mentions unspecified sources rather than names and titles, making it seem that the allegations are simply rumors. The narrator asks, “Who was Tagle, why is he destined to carry the light?”

“The timing is perfect” as to coincide with the death of Pope Francis. The video says it is “less likely a legend and more like a warning,” a subjective assertion.

The video explains that the Conservatives fear the progressive Tagle, who would not hesitate to say in all humility that he did not have the answer to certain questions posed to him. The video says a certain “senior cleric” warns that the Church is built on stones, not shifting sands, whatever the means. Tagle was branded by Conservatives as “too modern, too accessible.”

In the final analysis, the Nostradamus prophecy about the “man from the islands” endorsed by the “man in white robes” does not hold much water, and everything still remains to be seen at the Conclave.

Let us pray that the conclave will be successful in selecting a Pope “according to God’s will.”