If you do it the right way... one hit should suffice.

+3 to hit vs. Popes, Cardinals, and Bishops. On hit, Popes who are alive but playing dead must save vs. Fortitude or die.

It's a silver hammer, so it could also check if the Pope is a werewolf.

Bang bang Vatican's gilded hammer came down on his head
do do dooo do
Bang bang Vatican's gilded hammer made sure that he was dead
whoa-o whoa-o whoa-o whoa-o

The hammer is actually a 100lb two handed weapon

my favourite fact is that “factoid” doesn’t mean “little fact” but is actually starting to mean that

Hit him once. If he is silent, hit him again. If he is silent again, hit him again. If he remains silent, he is dead.

Hit him once. If he shouts, you've got two more swings to make him stop.

Snopes says unproven and the Vatican claims is a myth.

Equipped creature has +1/+1. Sacrifice to destroy target artifact or enchanment.

Is it to make sure, or is it to make sure?

What about the holy hand grenade?

"One" hit

"Two" hit Pope: "Ouch!"

...

...

"What do we do now?" "Just hit harder, it's a self-solving problem"

I bought one of those at Harbor Freight for like ¼ the price the Vatican probably paid.

I have one of these on my coffee table that’s decoration. Found it just laying in some room when I visited the Vatican in the 90s. Weird.

Well you have to be sure. I wonder where they keep the Pope hammer in between deaths

The ancient custom of throwing the body into the Tiber river is too unrefined for these modern times

"I fear the Pope has died!"

"You can't say things like that! You have to be sure!"

*wham-"Ack!!" wham wham

"OK, I'm sure the pope is dead."

I prefer the Holy Ball-Peen.

+5 damage and THAC0 against undead (Pope)

Clearly an anti zombie tool. Can't have the pope rising from the dead, it'd mess up the church's image.

The papal tappy taps

Which side do they hit him with?

The silver hammer of Saint Maxwell.