Video shows wax statue of Pope John Paul II, not his exhumed body
- This article is more than one year old.
- Published on July 18, 2023 at 11:49
- Updated on July 27, 2023 at 11:55
- 4 min read
- By Anuradha PRASAD, AFP India
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"Pope John Paul's body was yesterday exhumed, after 12 years. His body appears intact with no signs of decay," reads the post, shared here on Facebook on July 2, 2023.
The video has been viewed over 7,500 times and shows people carrying a glass coffin containing a body while a crowd chants prayers and takes pictures of the event.
Pope John Paul II -- who died on April 2, 2005 – was canonised as a saint on April 27, 2014. The late pontiff headed the Roman Catholic Church between 1978 and 2005 and was the first non-Italian pope in 455 years (archived link).
The video was shared with similar claims here and here on Facebook; and here on Twitter. It was shared in Spanish-language posts here and here, while Nigerian users posted it here.
But the video shows a wax statue of the late pope, not his actual body.
Wax statue
A reverse image search using keyframes from the video on Russian search engine Yandex found this video uploaded to YouTube on August 23, 2011 (archived link).
Its Spanish-language title reads: "Relics of Pope John Paul II."
The description reads: "Visit of the Relics of Blessed John Paul II to the COLEGIO MERCEDES." Colegio Mercedes is a private school in Mexico City (archived link).
Below is a screenshot comparison of the misleading video (left) with the YouTube video from 2011 (right):
AFP was able to confirm the video was indeed shot inside the Colegio Mercedes chapel based on photos posted to the school's official Facebook and Instagram accounts here and here (archived links here and here).
Below is a screenshot comparison of the YouTube video (left) and the photos of the Colegio Mercedes chapel on Instagram (right), with similarities marked by AFP:
Google keyword searches found Mexican Catholic news site Voces Catolicas reported on August 5, 2011 that the relics of Pope John Paul II would arrive in Mexico City on August 17 that year and travel through the country for four months (archived link).
The report states the relics include a capsule containing the Pope's blood and a wax statue of the late pontiff.
Mexican media at the time reported that the relics remained in the Apostolic Nunciature in Mexico City until August 25.
Further keyword searches on Google also found photos of the same wax statue posted to stock photo website Alamy here on August 25, 2011 (archived link). The image is credited to Keith Dannemiller, a photojournalist based in Mexico City.
The photo caption states it was taken during the relics' tour of Mexico, at the Basilica of Guadalupe in Mexico City.
The Mexico tour of the relics in 2011 was also reported by The Associated Press, which said it visited more than 100 locations (archived link).
Exhumation in 2011
AFP reported the coffin of Pope John Paul II was exhumed for beatification in April 2011, which was six years after his death, not 12 as stated in the false posts (archived link).
The report stated the "simple wooden coffin" was exhumed from a Vatican crypt on April 29, 2011 before it was sealed under the altar in a chapel in St Peter’s basilica at a private ceremony the following week.
Portuguese outlet ACI Digital debunked reports that the body had been exhumed in 2016 when the video was shared with another false claim (archived link).
July 27, 2023 Updated to replace archived link and correct a report credited to the San Diego Union Tribune. The report was published by The Associated Press.
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