[gatagato]

Pius XII died on 9 October 1958 of acute heart failure brought on by a sudden myocardial infarction in Castel Gandolfo, the Papal summer residence. His doctor Gaspanini said afterwards: "The Holy Father did not die because of any specific illness. He was completely exhausted. He was overworked beyond limit. His heart was healthy, his lungs were good. He could have lived another 20 years, had he spared
himself."

For the embalming process was chosen this man:

Riccardo Galeazzi-Lisi (26 July 1891 – 29 November 1968) was an Italian medical doctor who served as Pope Pius XII's personal physician from 1939 until his dismissal in 1956. During his service in the
Vatican he was officially titled "Archiatra Pontificio". The pope also made him an honorary member of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences. He managed to be present at the 1958 death of Pius XII and created a scandal in this context with his attempt to publish pictures and stories about the dying pontiff.

What the short Wiki bio forgot to mention, is that the man, basically, was completely crazy, but not
just "in a manner of speaking": I mean crazy like a horse after smoking crack, soon we'll se the why.

While the Pope was still alive, he stated clearly, and many times, that he didn't want to be embalmed, since he was against any form of manipulation of the body (he was used to say "leave the body in the same condition in which God created it", especially because he did not want the vital organs removed from his body: it was his business anyway what to do with his own body.

BUT

Mr. Galeazzi-Lisi was in disagreement, and tried many times to convince the then Pope to be embalmed (once dead, of course): but the Pope's reply was always the same, "nope".
Bombed but not beaten, one day Galeazzi-Lisi "entrusted" the Pope that he, together with another "genius", had discovered a "revolutionary" embalming tecnique: a clean one, no need to remove any organs, some non-invasive technique, some brilliant stuff. The Pope repeated for the zillionest time he was NOT interested in stuff like that.
At this point, Galeazzi-Lisi (who, for some reason, wanted to embalm the Pope at every cost, I dunno
why), thought that the Pope was "skeptik" over his "revolutionary method" because all he needed was some proof. So, he decided to carry to the pope the embalmed hand of some random dude who died in some accident. Not sure he was convinced by the sight of the hand or just in order to stop being harassed, but anyway the Pope agreed to be embalmed with the new technique (after his death, of course).


Now, all Galeazzi-Lisi had to wait for in order to reach his highly questionable dream, was to wait
for the Pope's death.
And this unfailingly happened on 9 October 1958.

The "revolutionary technique"
He claimed to have used the same system of oils and resins, "with which the body of Jesus Christ was preserved", yet another claim that doesn't surprise me at all. I just wonder where he did find the "original" recipe. Lisi covered the dead Pope with a plastic bag, inside which he placed herbs and spices.

Things start going wrong

The bizarre method by Galeazzi Lisi, however, started showing all its ineffectiveness almost
immediately: the Pope's body started decaying so quickly that there are no others forensic records
documenting any other decayment happening so fast. Virtually elimininating the circulation of air, he dramatically accelerated the anaerobic putrefaction, but the worst had yet to come.

Things go worse
According to the press, the body literally decomposed before the eyes of the mourners, during the procession from Castel Gandolfo to Rome. Despite Lisi's efforts, decomposition was unstoppable.

Things go even worse
The stench was so acrid that more than one Guard fainted, it was impossible to stand in the closeness
of the body: maybe somebody even died due to the smell, we'll never know. Vatican can hold its secrets very well.

Things go out of control
His face quickly became gray; and from his orifices, (especially the mouth, but also ears and eyes), some dark fluid started spilling. And something even more concerning was happening: his abdomen was growing up, as if it was being blowed-up by some "mysterious force" (what we today call "intestinal putrefactive gas")

At a certain point... Ka-Boom!

The Pope's chest exploded due to gaseous accumulation, the noise of the explosion could be heard from far away, his nose and fingers fell off and his skin turned from yellowish to a morbid black. Some of the "surviving" guards fainted while gathering the pieces that were spread all over. When the body (what was still intact of it) reached Vatican, a group of (ACTUAL) forensic experts in the field of embalming was summoned: but the treatment with formalin and cotton, intended to slow down the process of organic decay, failed. The situation was compromised, making it necessary to put, on the face of the Pope, a mask of wax (grease paint mixed with alkaline compounds).

Riccardo Galeazzi Lisi also took a score of indecent pictures to the pope dying, then tried to sell them to some French newspapers. Because of this, he was fired from the College of Cardinals and was expelled from the Order of Physicians for misconduct. The successor of Pius XII, Pope John XXIII, banned him for life from the Vatican.

P.S.:
This is not meant to be offensive to anyone who holds a religious belief: this is what really happened.

[švabo]

gone with a bang

[NEVERBACKZ]

brilliant!

[Kim]

Originally Posted by gatagato ↗

Riccardo Galeazzi Lisi also took a score of indecent pictures to the pope dying, then tried to sell them to some French newspapers. Because of this, he was fired from the College of Cardinals and was expelled from the Order of Physicians for misconduct. The successor of Pius XII, Pope John XXIII, banned him for life from the Vatican.

What the hell was wrong with that guy? Perhaps he woke one morning and thought to himself "Gee, I think I'll go take some nekkid pictures with my buddy the Pope."

[kellyhound]

[jesusopfer]

[Fred Rubble]

More crazy antics from the Holy See.

[juanmigual]

some weird stuff goes on with the fairy tale of "organized religion"
my how far we have slipped since we came down out of the trees

[ices]

Zombie pope.

If you've played Left4Dead, he is the Boomer.

[Brainplague]

Gatogato - if there is ever a DR convention, you need to be the Keynote Speaker.