Pope John Paul II has died

[GalvestonDuck]

Now there's a debate going on here -- and I haven't heard either side.

One says that when he dies, they take off his ring, crush it, and say his name three times to make certain he's dead.

Another (my boss's hubby) says they hit him on the head three times. His coworker (both of them were on a conference call) said, "No, they tap his hat three times." And then say his name three times along with it to determine if he's dead.

Now, I know some things we Catholics do seem bizarre to others. But I've never heard of tapping or hitting someone, much less the Pope, to tell if he is dead. Crushing the ring? Well, that's possible...but it would take something strong...isn't the ring gold?

Guess I'm gonna look it up.

[sunny]

Now there's a debate going on here -- and I haven't heard either side.

One says that when he dies, they take off his ring, crush it, and say his name three times to make certain he's dead.

Another (my boss's hubby) says they hit him on the head three times. His coworker (both of them were on a conference call) said, "No, they tap his hat three times." And then say his name three times along with it to determine if he's dead.

Now, I know some things we Catholics do seem bizarre to others. But I've never heard of tapping or hitting someone, much less the Pope, to tell if he is dead. Crushing the ring? Well, that's possible...but it would take something strong...isn't the ring gold?

Guess I'm gonna look it up.

Oh, Duckie, I've never heard of that either. Let us know what you find out.

[GalvestonDuck]

Ah...got it.

http://www.kensmen.com/catholic/papalelections.html

When a Pope dies,1 the "Cardinal Camerlengo" (Cardinal Chamberlain) first verifies the death. Traditionally, this is done by striking the Pope's forehead gently thrice with a silver hammer while asking him, using his Baptismal name, if he is dead, e.g., "Karol Wojtyla, are you dead?" When there is no response from the dead Pope, the Camerlengo solemnly announces his death and removes the Fisherman's ring from the dead Pope's finger. This ring, along with the papal seal, are broken, and the Pope's bedroom and study are sealed up. The bells of the Vatican toll the death, and all the bells of Rome join in.

[sunny]

Ah...got it.

http://www.kensmen.com/catholic/papalelections.html

When a Pope dies,1 the "Cardinal Camerlengo" (Cardinal Chamberlain) first verifies the death. Traditionally, this is done by striking the Pope's forehead gently thrice with a silver hammer while asking him, using his Baptismal name, if he is dead, e.g., "Karol Wojtyla, are you dead?" When there is no response from the dead Pope, the Camerlengo solemnly announces his death and removes the Fisherman's ring from the dead Pope's finger. This ring, along with the papal seal, are broken, and the Pope's bedroom and study are sealed up. The bells of the Vatican toll the death, and all the bells of Rome join in.

Once again, you have earned your title of "Best Investigator" on the board! I had not heard that before. Thanks for posting this.

[GalvestonDuck]

You're welcome! Everyone here at work knows not to get stumped on a trivia question because I'm bound to hibernate in my office until I find the answer, which usually doesn't take long since Yahoo is so cool!

[southerngale]

Anybody else here have tears in their eyes?

I know he's old and he has had a long life; but it's different with him, you know, because his imprint on this world has been so tremendous and so positive and to have him not with us anymore......and we saw how much he loved us....just two days ago. He tried to speak. He cares about us so much.

This is awful. And I'm not even a catholic and not particularly religious. I just think of his imprint on the world, ending communism, his connection with young people....this is a horrible day.

Hopefully, a miracle will somehow happen

BREAKING NEWS BTW: VATICAN CALLS EMERGENCY PRAYER SERVICE

I'm feeling the same way... I was this way when I found out Reagan was about dead too. I'm not Catholic or very religious either... I don't even go to church often.

I'm not Catholic either and although I disagree with some of the things in the Catholic religion, I think I'm always in agreement with the Pope on major issues and am very sad with what's going on today. God bless him and everyone praying for him.

[swimaster20]

Has anyone heard any major updates lately??

[cycloneye]

Has anyone heard any major updates lately??

No official news from the Vatican in the past 3 hours.But it is expected later this evening that the Vatican will issue another official bulletin about the Popes condition or the news of his death.

[sunny]

Another announcement from the Vatican expected shortly.

[Skywatch_NC]

Now there's a debate going on here -- and I haven't heard either side.

One says that when he dies, they take off his ring, crush it, and say his name three times to make certain he's dead.

Another (my boss's hubby) says they hit him on the head three times. His coworker (both of them were on a conference call) said, "No, they tap his hat three times." And then say his name three times along with it to determine if he's dead.

Now, I know some things we Catholics do seem bizarre to others. But I've never heard of tapping or hitting someone, much less the Pope, to tell if he is dead. Crushing the ring? Well, that's possible...but it would take something strong...isn't the ring gold?

Guess I'm gonna look it up.

It's interesting that his ring wouldn't go to surviving family members as a treasure memoriam of him.

[cycloneye]

Another announcement from the Vatican expected shortly.

Yes very shortly a Vatican statement will be issued.The kind of statement is what everyone is waiting for or to announce his death or updating his deterioting condition.

[JTD]

The lights in the Vatican secretary of State's windows went off just now. Is that a good sign that the Secretary is going home for the night because the pope is stable and nothing is imminent?

[sunny]

The lights in the Vatican secretary of State's windows went off just now. Is that a good sign that the Secretary is going home for the night because the pope is stable and nothing is imminent?

Is that on the third floor? The third floor is what we need to look for.

[streetsoldier]

His apartment lights are still on, and the window shutters are not yet closed as of this writing.

[sunny]

I just talked to my sister, and she said that the principal at my nephew's school, he goes to catholic school, heard the same report that we did ealier, and went and rang the bell. The nuns were crying, the kids were all upset. Seems a few of us jumped the gun.

[GalvestonDuck]

Now there's a debate going on here -- and I haven't heard either side.

One says that when he dies, they take off his ring, crush it, and say his name three times to make certain he's dead.

Another (my boss's hubby) says they hit him on the head three times. His coworker (both of them were on a conference call) said, "No, they tap his hat three times." And then say his name three times along with it to determine if he's dead.

Now, I know some things we Catholics do seem bizarre to others. But I've never heard of tapping or hitting someone, much less the Pope, to tell if he is dead. Crushing the ring? Well, that's possible...but it would take something strong...isn't the ring gold?

Guess I'm gonna look it up.

It's interesting that his ring wouldn't go to surviving family members as a treasure memoriam of him.

I think he gets buried with it because it is a symbol of his "marriage" to the Church and the example he served.

Also, I'm not sure how many close surviving family members he has. All his immediate family was dead by 1942 (when he was 20) -- his mother, father, and brother. And he obviously has no wife nor any children of his own (in the usual sense of the word).

[JTD]

No, I mean the lights in the room right beside the pope's bedroom. His bedroom lights are still on but not the ones in the room right beside him.

Also, please post the vatican statement here as soon as you get it. I'd appreciate that.

[sunny]

No, I mean the lights in the room right beside the pope's bedroom. His bedroom lights are still on but not the ones in the room right beside him.

Also, please post the vatican statement here as soon as you get it. I'd appreciate that.

Watch for the lights from the Pope's room. When they close the shutters, that indicates that our Pope is gone.

I will post the statement as soon as I see it.

[Skywatch_NC]

Now there's a debate going on here -- and I haven't heard either side.

One says that when he dies, they take off his ring, crush it, and say his name three times to make certain he's dead.

Another (my boss's hubby) says they hit him on the head three times. His coworker (both of them were on a conference call) said, "No, they tap his hat three times." And then say his name three times along with it to determine if he's dead.

Now, I know some things we Catholics do seem bizarre to others. But I've never heard of tapping or hitting someone, much less the Pope, to tell if he is dead. Crushing the ring? Well, that's possible...but it would take something strong...isn't the ring gold?

Guess I'm gonna look it up.

It's interesting that his ring wouldn't go to surviving family members as a treasure memoriam of him.

I think he gets buried with it because it is a symbol of his "marriage" to the Church and the example he served.

Also, I'm not sure how many close surviving family members he has. All his immediate family was dead by 1942 (when he was 20) -- his mother, father, and brother. And he obviously has no wife nor any children of his own (in the usual sense of the word).

Thank you, Shawn. In an earlier post I had wondered if he had any surviving siblings...his only brother died in '42 though. Wonder if he has any surviving cousins from his father or mother's side?

[GalvestonDuck]

No, I mean the lights in the room right beside the pope's bedroom. His bedroom lights are still on but not the ones in the room right beside him.

Also, please post the vatican statement here as soon as you get it. I'd appreciate that.

Those lights were off earlier (the ones beside his room). The window on the very right (end of the building) were off earlier when I was watching while at lunch. Last I saw there were two windows with lights on -- the second and third ones from the right. I'm assuming one or both of those are to the Pope's apartment?