Did I hear this correctly?

Question

I went to St. Peters Basilica...BEAUTIFUL...in italy...favorite part of the france/italy trip...anyways our tour guide mentioned something about the dead popes being buried there LIKE ALOT OF THEM but then while we were at wat i thought was a wax replica of a dead pope i thought she said that it was really the dead pope dipped in wax layin there...is this true or am i hearing things...i asked around later and the other ppl on my trip thought she might have said that too...

Answer 1

Yes, it's true...

Answer 2

yes, it is true (and freaky).

Answer 3

I took a tour there last year and thats what they said.  So to the best of my knowledge it is true.

Answer 4

Pope John XXIII's face is covered in a light wax mask to preserve it http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/136698... As far as I know, he is the only Pope who's body is on display.

Answer 5

It is in fact true and very common not only with various popes, but also with various saints.

Unlike when we visit a funeral home, the bodies of many religious people are not embalmed in the tradition methods in the US.  The body of a Saint cannot show signs of embalming in order to be canonized.

Many Catholic Churches in Italy house the remains of Saints, it is "odd" to see the natural preservation of their remains.