# Can the Pope bless the ocean ? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 25, 2010, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-pope-bless-the-ocean/537329 "2010-04-25T20:02:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![BlooD\_FeatheR\_BG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/54ee81/32.png) [@BlooD\_FeatheR\_BG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlooD_FeatheR_BG)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2010, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-pope-bless-the-ocean/537329/1 "2010-04-25T20:02:27Z")
\*\*As we all know the best weapon against evil creatures in good old holy water. It has divine powers and brings the God’s wrath upon hell spawns… 🆒 But, can the Pope bless the whole Pacific? Or if he has problem with saltwater, he could at least stick his crucifix in the largest freshwater lake. Possable, or even the “pope-blessing-powers” have limits. How many Popes does it take to bless the ocean?😕 (It sure sounds like “How many blondes does it take to skrew a light bulb…:D”)\*\* ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2010, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-pope-bless-the-ocean/537329/2 "2010-04-25T20:04:51Z")
**Speak up, I can’t hear you.** ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2010, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-pope-bless-the-ocean/537329/3 "2010-04-25T20:10:22Z")
The Pope has some pretty powerful blessing mojo. I was in an “audience” with The Pope once (the \*real \*Pope, JP-2), which consisted of about 9000 people standing around in St. Peter’s Square. They had a “blessing of the artifacts” or something like that. I’d brought along a small crucifix to be blessed. So assuming everyone had something, that’s 9000 artifacts blessed with one wave of the Papal hand. An entire ocean? Might take a bit longer, but I’ll bet JP-2 could have pulled it off. He was one awesome pontiff! ---
**Author:** ![BlooD\_FeatheR\_BG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/54ee81/32.png) [@BlooD\_FeatheR\_BG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlooD_FeatheR_BG)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2010, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-pope-bless-the-ocean/537329/4 "2010-04-25T20:11:35Z")
**Buy your self some hearing aid. Or just stop sticking things in your ears. NOT HEALTHY** ---
**Author:** ![BlooD\_FeatheR\_BG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/54ee81/32.png) [@BlooD\_FeatheR\_BG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlooD_FeatheR_BG)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2010, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-pope-bless-the-ocean/537329/5 "2010-04-25T20:16:27Z")
> [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](#): > > The Pope has some pretty powerful blessing mojo. I was in an “audience” with The Pope once (the \*real \*Pope, JP-2), which consisted of about 9000 people standing around in St. Peter’s Square. They had a “blessing of the artifacts” or something like that. I’d brought along a small crucifix to be blessed. So assuming everyone had something, that’s 9000 artifacts blessed with one wave of the Papal hand. > > An entire ocean? Might take a bit longer, but I’ll bet JP-2 could have pulled it off. He was one awesome pontiff! Cool, and if there are 9000 people standing knee-deep in the sea and the Pope makes his special BLESS-WAVE move . . .🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Uosdwis\_R.Dewoh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Uosdwis\_R.Dewoh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uosdwis_R.Dewoh)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2010, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-pope-bless-the-ocean/537329/6 "2010-04-25T20:42:54Z")
If he hasn’t already, he should. These vampires are getting tiresome. ---
**Author:** ![Projammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/projammer/32/559_2.png) [@Projammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Projammer)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2010, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-pope-bless-the-ocean/537329/7 "2010-04-26T00:49:56Z")
Seeing as that the [proper disposal](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holy_water#Proper_disposal) of holy water is accomplished by depositing it directly in the ground, I expect that trying to bless a large body of water would be like trying to charge a grounded circuit. ---
**Author:** ![Bytegeist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9dc877/32.png) [@Bytegeist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bytegeist)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2010, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-pope-bless-the-ocean/537329/8 "2010-04-26T02:00:28Z")
> [@Projammer](#): > > Seeing as that the [proper disposal](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holy_water#Proper_disposal) of holy water is accomplished by depositing it directly in the ground, I expect that trying to bless a large body of water would be like trying to charge a grounded circuit. So he can’t just bless **all water on Earth** , and be done with this business once and for all? ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2010, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-pope-bless-the-ocean/537329/9 "2010-04-26T02:46:11Z")
Isn’t there also a prohibition against drinking it? ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2010, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-pope-bless-the-ocean/537329/10 "2010-04-26T02:53:05Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > Isn’t there also a prohibition against drinking it? Blessing all water would presumably include the water in my toilet. So then when I go and piss in that flushable font of blessed water, have I sinned? In fact, my piss is 99%+ water – was that included when the Pope blessed all the water on earth? Holy piss, indeed! ---
**Author:** ![fluiddruid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c2a13f/32.png) [@fluiddruid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fluiddruid)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2010, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-pope-bless-the-ocean/537329/11 "2010-04-26T02:54:36Z")
Wait, first we need the conversion rate from Stanley nickels to Shrute bucks. ---
**Author:** ![Aji\_de\_Gallina](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aji_de_gallina/32/260_2.png) [@Aji\_de\_Gallina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aji_de_Gallina)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2010, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-pope-bless-the-ocean/537329/12 "2010-04-26T04:25:31Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > Isn’t there also a prohibition against drinking it? Eastern Catholics and Orthodox DO drink it. ---
**Author:** ![Alka\_Seltzer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c89c15/32.png) [@Alka\_Seltzer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alka_Seltzer)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2010, 9:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-pope-bless-the-ocean/537329/13 "2010-04-26T09:15:21Z")
Poor vampires. If the pope blesses an ocean, pretty soon they won’t be able to go out in the sun or the rain. ---
**Author:** ![kombatminipig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5ac83/32.png) [@kombatminipig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kombatminipig)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2010, 9:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-pope-bless-the-ocean/537329/14 "2010-04-26T09:58:07Z")
Pope blessed my ass once, and fire shot out. Holy fire! Might have been hellfire though, I’m not sure. I wasn’t on the receiving end. ---
**Author:** ![Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiendish_astronaut/32/3295_2.png) [@Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiendish_Astronaut)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2010, 10:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-pope-bless-the-ocean/537329/15 "2010-04-26T10:43:42Z")
Seeing as there are roughly as many atoms in a large glass of water than there are glasses of water on the planet, then surely every body of water, however small should reasonably be considered to contain water that has been blessed by some Pope. And many atoms must have been blessed more than once (although my head hurts trying to work out the likehood of any one atom being blessed several times over). What then for vampires eh? Eh? Or does it the water lose it’s blessed status once it’s gone through the water cycle? ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2010, 11:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-pope-bless-the-ocean/537329/16 "2010-04-26T11:12:37Z")
> [@Fiendish\_Astronaut](#): > > Seeing as there are roughly as many atoms in a large glass of water than there are glasses of water on the planet, then surely every body of water, however small should reasonably be considered to contain water that has been blessed by some Pope. And many atoms must have been blessed more than once (although my head hurts trying to work out the likehood of any one atom being blessed several times over). What then for vampires eh? Eh? > > Or does it the water lose it’s blessed status once it’s gone through the water cycle? That’s how I’d interpret the whole letting it seep into the ground thing to dispose of it. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2010, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-pope-bless-the-ocean/537329/17 "2010-04-26T14:30:18Z")
ISTM, there is a difference between issuing a general or special blessing upon one or more or an indefinite range of things/persons/collectives thereof, and specifically **consecrating** for a particular sacramental purpose a finite number/amount/portion thereof. So unless an expert in Canon Law corrects me otherwise, you would make “holy water” of a finite volume, not of an ocean. Besides, the Pope wouldn’t do it because he’d think it pointless, considering among other things that there’s no vampire menace to stop. I suppose “factual questions” based on silly hypotheticals are withon the pale, but really, people… ---
**Author:** ![Sapo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@Sapo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sapo)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2010, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-pope-bless-the-ocean/537329/18 "2010-04-27T02:06:00Z")
It used to be that he could but since the Second Vatican Council it was decided that the Pope’s powers capped at blessing the Indian Ocean. Some wiki and some basic math later, it would take 2.5 popes to bless the Pacific. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2010, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-pope-bless-the-ocean/537329/19 "2010-04-27T03:29:24Z")
> [@Sapo](#): > > It used to be that he could but since the Second Vatican Council it was decided that the Pope’s powers capped at blessing the Indian Ocean. Some wiki and some basic math later, it would take 2.5 popes to bless the Pacific. So, is that like what DC Comics did back in the 80s when they rebooted Superman with more finite powers? And, was John Byrne involved in Vatican II? ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2010, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-pope-bless-the-ocean/537329/20 "2010-04-27T03:43:00Z")
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