Pope John Paul's Coffin Exhumed for Ceremony
By: Newsroom Solutions
Updated: February 18, 2011
Pope John Paul the Second's coffin will be exhumed so the public can pray before it at his beatification ceremony May 1st.
Catholic officials expect more than one-million people to attend the ceremony in St. Peter's Square that moves the late pontiff a step closer to becoming a saint.
In order to be beatified, the person must be declared by the Catholic Church to have facilitated a miracle.
As part of the beatification ceremony, a prayer vigil will be held in Rome.
The day after, a mass of thanksgiving will be conducted and John Paul's remains will be placed in a new location in a side chapel of St Peter's Basilica.
His coffin currently lies in the crypts below.
Catholic officials expect more than one-million people to attend the ceremony in St. Peter's Square that moves the late pontiff a step closer to becoming a saint.
In order to be beatified, the person must be declared by the Catholic Church to have facilitated a miracle.
As part of the beatification ceremony, a prayer vigil will be held in Rome.
The day after, a mass of thanksgiving will be conducted and John Paul's remains will be placed in a new location in a side chapel of St Peter's Basilica.
His coffin currently lies in the crypts below.
Comments
It is sad to see sincere people pray to John Paul, because if they knew what truth was, what the Bible says about it, maybe they would see the wisdom in stopping this futile practice. The Bible says that when a person dies, it is as though they are unconscious, and cannot do anything. Jesus likened death to sleep, (John 11:11-14, and Ecclestiastes 9:5 & 10) The Bible shows that we are to approach God in Jesus' name. (John 14: 6, 14 and 1Timothy 2:5.) Praying to a dead person is not a Bible teaching at all, but has another source which opposes the truth. That same source is the one who may "answer the prayer" to make it look like John Paul is still functioning, which, if what the Bible is true, he is not.John Paul does not know that sincere people are gathered to pray over his corpse, John Paul doesn't know, but God and Jesus do.
Meggs M.
February 19, 2011 at 9:52 pm
