Fortunately, several outlets confirmed that ahead of the lie-in state, Pope Francis’ body underwent thanatopraxis, a modern embalming process regulated in Italy under a law passed in 2022 that ...

The source also noted that the embalming process “could take about 48 hours,” meaning that Liam’s father, Geoff Payne, may return to the United Kingdom with his son’s body as soon as ...

More information: Caroline Partiot et al, First bioarchaeological evidence of the familial practice of embalming of infant and adult relatives in Early Modern France, Scientific Reports (2024).

Ahead of lying in state, the pope's body "underwent a temporary embalming process known as thanatopraxy," with the goal of "a more serene and natural appearance of the deceased [that] lasts up to ...

Besides for lying-in-state, temporary embalming is used for funeral wakes, body repatriations and niche burials to offset possible spillage and gas releases caused by decomposition, Fantozzi said.

James Estrin/The New York Times Formaldehyde sits at the heart of the embalming process. The gas fixes onto tissue proteins, stiffening them and inhibiting decomposition for roughly 24 hours.