Claim: Part of the process of determining that a Pope has died and is not merely sleeping calls for him to be tapped on the forehead with a silver hammer.
Fact-check: Is a Deceased Pope Tapped with a Silver Hammer to Verify He's Dead?
Verdict: Unproven
Organisation: Snopes
Author: Barbara Mikkelson
Date published: 2005-04-02T16:14:04