# embalmed pope **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 4, 2005, 10:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/embalmed-pope/297642 "2005-04-04T10:53:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2005, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/embalmed-pope/297642/21 "2005-04-07T04:08:55Z")
> [@Tenar](#): > > Unless you were planning to use it as some sort of cunning decorative accent in your Great Room (God, I do love how pretentious “Great Room” sounds), I’d advise against it. I gather the Pope’s organs were in a pretty general state of collapse at the time he surrendered the use of them. Yeah, but maybe the _next_ Pope’s guts will still be usable when he dies. (Like if he’s suddenly decapitated in a freak genuflecting accident.) Say, anyone remember the song “Gary Gilmore’s Eyes”? ---
**Author:** ![Zoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a4c791/32.png) [@Zoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoe)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2005, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/embalmed-pope/297642/22 "2005-04-07T05:29:48Z")
I heard on MSNBC yesterday that Pope John Paul II has not been embalmed at all, but “prepared.” Those at the Vatican who provided this information did not elaborate. Other sources commented that the preparation was purely cosmetic. I don’t understand how this could be possible with his remains lying in state. His body will be placed in the same place under the Bascillica where Pope John XXIII was buried at one time. When Pope John’s body was moved to a different location, it was said to have been in a near perfect state of preservation. Please excuse me if I am repeating someone in another thread. ---
**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2005, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/embalmed-pope/297642/23 "2005-04-07T05:40:36Z")
The reports I read said the pope’s body had been “preserved” but not “embalmed”. So there must have been some chemical applied to him to keep him looking presentable. But he didn’t get formaldehyde flushed through him. But that still may happen. ---
**Author:** ![postcards](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8e8cbc/32.png) [@postcards](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/postcards)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2005, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/embalmed-pope/297642/24 "2005-04-07T14:02:42Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > In former times, it was believed that very saintly persons would be found to have NOT DECAYED, sometimes centuries after their deaths. This was ascribed to som special favor from God. Is this belief still current? I know that in medieval times, tombs of saints and popes wereopened, and the bodies examined. I wonder if the RC church has done this recently, or if it is a tradition that has been discarded. John XXIII was disinterred in 2000, I believe, upon his beatification. The body showed no signs of decomposition, and was moved to a glass coffin in the basillica along with one of the Leo’s and a Gregory. I had a link to a good site about this, but can’t seem to Google it now. ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2005, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/embalmed-pope/297642/25 "2005-04-07T17:06:05Z")
> [@](#): > > Pope John Paul II has not been embalmed at all, but “prepared.” > [@](#): > > the pope’s body had been “preserved” but not “embalmed”. However, if you will check the comments in the link provided by **APB** in post #13, above, you will note that the gentleman who is actually providing the service has stated > [@](#): > > Signor Signoracci confirmed that embalming techniques nowadays consisted of the intravenous injection of formaldehyde. I suspect that the Vatican has simply not chosen to use the word “embalm” and that this has fueled a bunch of rather wild speculations. (Does anyone know whether current Italian mores tend to avoid the word “embalm” as not polite?) ---
**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2005, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/embalmed-pope/297642/26 "2005-04-07T17:12:20Z")
I have officially decided I have no idea what they are doing with the pope’s body. > **[An Alternative to Embalming for the Pontiff](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2005-apr-07-fg-embalmer7-story.html)** > > Instead of a mortician with old Vatican ties, a specialist was called to preserve the pope's body, and was sworn to secrecy on the process. Sorry, registration required. ---
**Author:** ![Cynical\_Optimist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Cynical\_Optimist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cynical_Optimist)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2005, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/embalmed-pope/297642/27 "2005-04-07T18:02:00Z")
I think the Church has contracted with Alcor to create a huge underground vault filled with dewers where they vitrify dead Popes until nanotech advances to the point where they can be brought back to life. You know, that whole “culture of life” thing they’re talking about. Now if you thought that Luther fellow started a schism… No, not really, but it’s fun to think about. ---
**Author:** ![According\_to\_Pliny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8e7dd6/32.png) [@According\_to\_Pliny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/According_to_Pliny)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2005, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/embalmed-pope/297642/28 "2005-04-07T18:20:24Z")
The question everybody asks is “Are the clothes intact, or slit down the back for easy dressing?” ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2005, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/embalmed-pope/297642/29 "2005-04-07T18:33:10Z")
> [@Eve](#): > > I saw the extensive news coverage of John Paul II’s dead body being carried through the streets and put on display and, may I say, they went a _little_ heavy on the lipstick? > > Why do morticians _always_ do such a bad job with the makeup? Probably they’re used to doing things the old-fashioned way. According to my father, that used to be the thing, heavy florid colors with the make up. You still see it with some funeral homes. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Moto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de0a6/32.png) [@Mr.Moto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Moto)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2005, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/embalmed-pope/297642/30 "2005-04-07T18:58:42Z")
CNN is reporting that upon the Pope’s beatification, should it come, his heart will be disinterred and reburied in Poland. I’m reasonably devout, but I can’t help thinking of Tony Bennett. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/embalmed-pope/297642.md?page=1)