St Malachi was born in County Armagh, Ireland in 1194. This was 828 years ago, but St Malachi was an Irish archbishop who still fascinates because he made a prophecy that foretold several future Popes. St Malachi metaphorically referred to John Paul II as "the eclipse of the sun", and John Paul was born during a solar eclipse and he was buried during one, too.
Malachi had extraordinary mystical presentations, and he even saw his own sister in Purgatory. During her life, she'd been given to extreme vanity and had been obsessed with the care of her body. She had fetishized her flesh. After her death, she had the condign purification of seeing her body putrefy in the grave. She had to behold the skin she had lavished become like meat that has gone bad, and she could do nothing to remedy her situation. When Malachi saw that she was sentenced to the cemetery, he went and offered Holy Mass for 30 days. But his sister was not released from Purgatory, instead she had moved to the gate of the church. She wore a black veil and was very sorrowful. St Malachi decided to offer 30 more Masses for her.
After a total of 60 Masses had been offered, St Malachi had the glad sight of seeing his sister in the sanctuary of the church and she was radiant in a white robe. He was rewarded with the knowledge that she was about to go to Heaven.
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This post was informed by Fr Charles Arminjon's The End of the Present World, which is available in The Spirit Daily bookstore.