Originally reported by Charisma on July 7, 2017.
A striking prophecy about Donald Trump from the 1980s, attributed to a devout Roman Catholic named Tom Zimmer, prophesies that Trump would “lead America back to God.” This story gained renewed attention following Trump’s second election victory, pointing to Zimmer, known as the “Hermit of Loreto,” who lived as a prayerful recluse in Loreto, Italy. Zimmer, who passed away on Sept. 10, 2009, was no ordinary Catholic. A co-author of the Pieta prayer book, which sold millions of copies, Zimmer was said to have attended Mass several times daily as part of his deep religious devotion.
The prophecy came to light shortly after Trump’s inauguration when an American priest named Giacomo Capoverdi shared Zimmer’s story in a YouTube video. A few weeks later, Catholic blogger Brett Thomas from the Secular Order of St. Francis reported on Capoverdi’s video and offered further context. Capoverdi explained that he first learned of Zimmer’s prophecy in 2000 from an Italian-American doctor, Claudio Curran, who urged him to meet the “holy man” of Loreto. When Capoverdi arrived in Loreto, he found Zimmer at the “Holy House,” a Catholic shrine believed to be the original home of Mary from Nazareth.
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In Capoverdi’s words, “When Trump was elected, Dr. Curran called and told him that, back in the 1980s, Tom Zimmer said he had received a ‘premonition’ and that ‘a certain man would lead America back to God’—and that man would be none other than Donald J. Trump.”
An astonished Dr. Curran reportedly asked, “The millionaire playboy from New York?” Zimmer, unshaken, replied, “Yes,” and was so confident in his vision that he even “wrote [Trump’s] name on a brick and had it placed in the reconstruction of St. Peter’s Holy Door after the Jubilee so Trump would receive blessings from the many Masses that would be said in the Vatican.”
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Thomas, the Catholic blogger, explored the story’s credibility. After investigating Zimmer, Thomas wrote, “I have no reason to doubt Capoverdi’s statements that Thomas Zimmer communicated to his friend that he received a ‘premonition’ that Donald Trump would ‘lead America back to God.’” He explained that discerning the validity of a prophecy involves evaluating three elements: the prophet’s character, the prophecy’s alignment with Scripture and church teachings, and its ultimate fulfillment.
To the first point, Thomas observed, “Was the prophet a good and virtuous person? Zimmer was.” For the second, he noted, “There is nothing scriptural or in church teachings that would suggest that a political leader cannot lead people to God; on the contrary, Scripture indicates it as a duty.”
Lastly, Thomas acknowledged the importance of whether a prophecy comes true. He added that evidence of Zimmer’s faith in his prophecy could lie in searching for the brick bearing Trump’s name at St. Peter’s door. Thomas concluded, “Here we must wait and see if that happens, but I’m sure whether or not Trump leads America back to God will be open to dispute and interpretation.”
Should Zimmer’s prophecy be fulfilled, it stands as an extraordinary example of faith, prayer and endurance. The idea that Zimmer, a secluded Catholic elder, could have had such an intuition about Trump remains a thought-provoking possibility—one that may continue to resonate among those who view Trump’s role as more than political one. Whether Trump will, in fact, lead America back to God may be seen only in time.
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James Lasher is staff writer for Charisma Media.