Surprising reason Pope can't be an organ donor even if they are registered as one

Vatican officials have explained why the leader of the Catholic church cannot be an organ donor even after death, regardless of whether or not they carry a donor card.

The body of Pope Francis is now lying in state in St Peter’s Basilica in Rome, Italy, after the leader who was elected in 2013 passed away on Easter Monday (April 21).

Members of the public will be able to pay their respects to Pope Francis from Wednesday (April 23) until Friday, ahead of the Pope's funeral on Saturday when he will be buried at the Basilica of St Mary Major in Rome.

According to the Gift of Life Donor Program, Pope Francis previously described the act of organ donation as ‘a testimony of love for our neighbor’ when the Vatican hosted the European Organ Donation Day in October 2014.

However, when Pope Francis is buried, it will be with every organ he had when he died - even if he chose to be an organ donor earlier in life.

Pope Francis showed his support for organ donation (Antonio Cotrim - Pool/Getty Images)

After learning that the pope could not donate organs, many Reddit users speculated it might be down to their older age. However, the actual reason came to light with Pope Francis' predecessor, Pope Benedict, who was known to have an organ donor card.

The former pope's support for organ donation prompted a doctor in Germany to use him as an example to advocate the practice, but the Vatican asked him to stop as they explained that Benedict himself could not actually donate his organs if he died as pope.

Benedict volunteered to retire in 2013, but while he was still the leader of the church his secretary, Monsignor Georg Gaenswein, sent a letter to the doctor which was later reported by the media.

Pope Benedict had an organ donor card (Getty Stock Photo)

The letter explained: "It's true that the pope owns an organ donor card ... but contrary to public opinion, the card issued back in the 1970s became de facto invalid with Cardinal Ratzinger's election to the papacy."

Vatican officials explained that when a pope dies, his body belongs to the entire church and must be buried intact.

According to Reuters, officials added that if papal organs were to be donated, they would become relics in other bodies if the late pope were eventually made into a saint.

Commenting on Pope Benedict's decision to become a donor, Vatican spokesperson Federico Lombardi said at the time: "The pope evidently made the choice many years ago.

"As a private citizen he could make that decision, but now he has a different role."