# Pope not embalmed?? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 7, 2005, 10:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pope-not-embalmed/298195 "2005-04-07T10:27:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Joe\_Mahma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@Joe\_Mahma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joe_Mahma)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2005, 10:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pope-not-embalmed/298195/1 "2005-04-07T10:27:28Z")
There was an article in the local paper that said that the Pope was not embalmed, but that his body had been “prepared”. The person who did the preparing didn’t say anything further. Anyone have any idea how his body is not visibly deteriorating if he isn’t embalmed? ---
**Author:** ![Ice\_Wolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/dfb087/32.png) [@Ice\_Wolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ice_Wolf)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2005, 10:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pope-not-embalmed/298195/2 "2005-04-07T10:43:15Z")
According to this [L.A. Times article](http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-embalmer7apr07,1,1995165.story?coll=la-headlines-world&ctrack=1&cset=true) (possible subscription), they simply had a forensic expert inject fomaldehyde into the body – _and_ top it up, possibly. > [@](#): > > During the three days that the body has been on view, St. Peter’s has closed from 2 to 5 a.m. The Vatican has said the hiatus is for maintenance inside the basilica, but a prominent specialist said it was likely that a formaldehyde solution was re-injected during that time, and cosmetics applied to conceal what by now would be apparent signs of decay. This has been done before, so they say. ---
**Author:** ![Man\_With\_a\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/cab0a1/32.png) [@Man\_With\_a\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Man_With_a_Cat)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2005, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pope-not-embalmed/298195/3 "2005-04-07T13:08:12Z")
_Apparent_ signs of decay? :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2005, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pope-not-embalmed/298195/4 "2005-04-07T13:16:01Z")
> [@mr bus guy](#): > > _Apparent_ signs of decay? :eek: That’s nothing if you read on… > [@](#): > > The luckless Pius XII was not only tabloid fodder because of the clandestine photos; his body also decomposed significantly before burial. Accounts from the time describe his corpse turning “emerald green” and stolid Swiss Guards fainting from the smell. > > When papal aides instructed that Pope Paul VI be only lightly embalmed upon his death in 1978, they failed to take Rome’s steamy summertime weather into account. After two days on public display in the August heat, the body began to putrefy. ---
**Author:** ![Mehitabel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8797f3/32.png) [@Mehitabel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mehitabel)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2005, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pope-not-embalmed/298195/5 "2005-04-07T13:28:15Z")
I remember that…sorta greenish look poor Montini had, and JP I’s hands turning white. Whoa. But that’s what death looks like. We sanitize it a lot in this country. That said, I’m happy that they’re touching up JPII’s makeup and all. I did notice that his head had been straightened between the time he was moved from the Palace to the Basilica–and the poor guy didn’t do that himself. ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2005, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pope-not-embalmed/298195/6 "2005-04-07T14:43:57Z")
A few days ago, I read something about how the Vatican wasn’t using the same embalming company that they’d used for the last couple of popes. I almost felt bad for those guys, being snubbed like that, and then I read a little further, and saw how Pius XII and Paul VI had been “preserved” :eek: Needless to say, I don’t feel so bad about this particular break with tradition. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2005, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pope-not-embalmed/298195/7 "2005-04-07T18:30:52Z")
I believe they might not have embalmed because in the absence of such if he didn’t show signs of decay then it would strengthen the arguement for sainthood. ---
**Author:** ![Ice\_Wolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/dfb087/32.png) [@Ice\_Wolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ice_Wolf)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2005, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pope-not-embalmed/298195/8 "2005-04-07T19:09:29Z")
I think **lieu’s** hit the nail on the head with that – it has been mentioned that John Paul II may be up for beatification. With all due respect, though … even sealing his coffin inside zinc, as I’ve read they intend to do, won’t save much of him for sainthood, unless they just look to the abstraction rather than the corpus. ---
**Author:** ![ouryL](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ouryl/32/6067_2.png) [@ouryL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ouryL)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2005, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pope-not-embalmed/298195/9 "2005-04-07T21:38:26Z")
bad stuff do not read Because it’s harder to eat him if they do. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Imasquare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Imasquare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Imasquare)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2005, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pope-not-embalmed/298195/10 "2005-04-08T03:13:24Z")
> [@ouryL](#): > > bad stuff do not read Because it’s harder to eat him if they do. :rolleyes: Yes, he would be toxic. ---
**Author:** ![Scissorjack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c67d28/32.png) [@Scissorjack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scissorjack)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2005, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pope-not-embalmed/298195/11 "2005-04-08T12:27:06Z")
> [@Ice Wolf](#): > > I think **lieu’s** hit the nail on the head with that – it has been mentioned that John Paul II may be up for beatification. With all due respect, though … even sealing his coffin inside zinc, as I’ve read they intend to do, won’t save much of him for sainthood, unless they just look to the abstraction rather than the corpus. Well, supposedly if you don’t start to putresce after a couple of days then that’s a sign of God’s grace shining down on you right there: it’s already being touted by some of the less reliable media as evidence of his holiness and suitability for beatification. ---
**Author:** ![Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/96bed5/32.png) [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patty_O_Furniture)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2005, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pope-not-embalmed/298195/12 "2005-04-08T13:31:50Z")
There were noticeable signs of decay, according to several newscasts I saw yesterday. In fact they all dropped the tone of their voice on the word “noticeable” and stressed it slightly, as if to imply that it really was _not_ a pretty sight. I wondered why there were no close-up shots toward the end. ---
**Author:** ![Amazon\_Floozy\_Goddess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/779978/32.png) [@Amazon\_Floozy\_Goddess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amazon_Floozy_Goddess)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2005, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pope-not-embalmed/298195/13 "2005-04-09T15:24:36Z")
This thread reminds me about the “Incorruptibles”, or saints and popes which have escaped decay and it has been thought to be a miracle from God, when in fact other factors come into play. It’s talked about in a book I have called The Mummy Congress, by Heather Pringle. It’s a very good read and there’s pictures which make it even more morbidly fascinating.