Vatican City, Apr 29, 2011 / 06:00 am
The casket containing the mortal remains of Pope John Paul II has been exhumed ahead of his beatification this Sunday.
The brief ceremony of exhumation took place in the early hours of this morning in the grotto situated beneath the high altar of St. Peter’s Basilica.
The tomb of Pope John Paul was opened and his casket placed on a cart. The casket, however, remained unopened throughout and was covered with a large pall embroidered with gold.
Papal caskets are comprised of three components. The outside box is a wooden one, inside of that is a lead container, and the final casket--which contains the remains of the Pope--is also made of wood. Those present at the exhumation say the wooden outer layer of the casket had slightly deteriorated with age.