The man responsible for the recent exhumation of the mystic and stigmatic Padre Pio, one of the Catholic world's most popular saints, told The Times that, as a boy, a dead body would have impressed him and he admits he would have gone to sleep at his mother's if a neighbour died, let alone if it were someone even closer to home.
Of course, that has all changed now, Nazzareno Gabrielli being more hands on with the dead than most of us would like to be... In his lifetime, he has conserved the corpses of no fewer than 50 saints. It's all in a day's work!
Maybe his serenity in the face of death is a result of the serenity he notices around these corpses. "Death is scary because of the detachment it brings from personal effects; because we have to distance ourselves from the things we love. But, ultimately, it is about falling asleep.
"Now, I've exorcised death. It is natural."
A conservationist, or "chemist of art", it is hard to sum up Dott. Gabrielli in one word. But, despite his vast experience, he admits that he could not sleep the night he was called and commissioned to exhume and conserve the body of the venerated Padre Pio, the first stigmatised priest in the history of the Church, who has been credited with over 1,000 miraculous cures.
"Let's face it, he is a particular person... entering into the paranormal..."
Not only does Dott. Gabrielli have constant close contact with corpses but most are also endowed with extraordinary spiritual gifts and charisms, known to leave a unique impact on lives even after their death. Among the bodies he has conserved is that of Pope John XXIII.
In the case of Padre Pio, he had the gift of bilocation, healed the sick and could prophesy the future, has millions of devotees around the world, his tomb in San Giovanni Rotondo in southern Italy is visited by seven million pilgrims annually and he was canonised by Pope John Paul II in 2002.
But for Dott. Gabrielli, a believer, it was, ultimately, a job. "Yes, you can feel a sense of pride, undoubtedly. Why am I doing it and not someone else? But when you are working, you tend to forget the subject.
"Then, every now and again, you remember and that is when the devotion and even a sense of fear set in." To add to the pressure, the deadline for the conservation job was established before the condition of the corpse had even been determined.
Padre Pio's exhumation was authorised by the Vatican in January and was granted so that his body could be prepared for public veneration last month to commemorate the 40th anniversary of his death and the 90th of the first appearance of the stigmata.
Having been chosen for the job filled Dott. Gabrielli with a strong emotion. Nevertheless, after the first evening of worrying, he woke up with ideas on how to proceed... And science overcame emotion.
During the process, however, emotion would play its part too. A Church representative often interrupted his work with a prayer and Dott. Gabrielli would get irritated, internally. "But those moments of reflection were important; they were moments of serenity. The religious aspect formed part of the job."
The body of the mystical monk was found to be in a "relatively good state", Dott. Gabrielli said, despite the fact that his tomb was completely flooded, water having seeped in and rendering him susceptible to dismemberment.
The job required 50 days - less, however, than other similar jobs on bodies that were in a better condition, Dott. Gabrielli said.
While opening the grave means the body instantly starts to lose its equilibrium, St Pio's would have totally disintegrated within five years had no intervention occurred. Now, he is destined to last until "the Resurrection", Dott. Gabrielli laughed.
Nothing was done to preserve Padre Pio's body when he died in 1968 but the fact that it remained intact was not extraordinary, Dott. Gabrielli explained. A body normally lasts a mere few months but he insisted that it is not only the Italian Capuchin priest's that resisted 40 years. Environmental conditions have an effect, as does the way the body is positioned in the coffin. "Sometimes, it can be explained..."
As regards the saint's stigmata, which are said to have disappeared on his death, Dott. Gabrielli said: "I saw the mittens. That's it!" In fact, the wounds are said to have disappeared even before his death, he pointed out.
As to whether there is a macabre side to what is known as the "reconnaissance" of a dead body, Dott. Gabrielli said "it depends on the spirit with which you tackle it".
It is a delicate issue but he referred to the amount of pilgrims who stop in front of Pope John in St Peter's Basilica in Rome, crying, and even reviving their faith.
"After all, it is not only about a reasoned faith but also a visible one," he explained. "Once the job is done, I have heard nuns scream like they were fans in front of their favourite rock star," he says of the devotion and the sentiments that are provoked by being able to venerate a saint's corpse.
The exhumation - the first time the tomb had been opened since Padre Pio's death - was approved by the Vatican despite opposition from some of the saint's most ardent followers. In fact, Dott. Gabrielli found himself in the midst of a controversy that erupted but seems to have remained somewhat detached and kept a low key.
However, it is still as though he is treading on eggshells when he broaches the subject and the aim of the exhumation. "I did the job with emotion and considered myself to be privileged. But I did not give it that much thought either. I had the blessing of the highest authority," he justifies.
Until some years ago, Dott. Gabrielli, one of the only authorities in his area, would have maintained that the necessity to conserve the bodies of saints would die. But it has not been the case. His recent high-profile job has attracted even more attention to his services and the demand is strong.
The former director of the Musei Vaticani, Dott. Gabrielli has laid his hands on and preserved several prestigious works of art. The principles of conservation are fundamentally the same - they just need to be adapted, he explained.
In fact, he was in Malta to deliver a lecture on the 13-year restoration of Michelangelo's Cappella Sistina, which he worked on and which is known as the "restoration of the century", with its own fair share of controversy.