Pope Francis, the 256th successor to Saint Peter, passed on Easter Monday. He had addressed the church on Easter Sunday, but sadly succumbed to a stroke the very next day, Easter Monday. Noteworthy is that Pope Francis was a pioneer. He was the first pope to take the name of Francis, a name chosen in honor of Saint Francis of Assisi. Another first for the Pope is that he was the first Pope from America, South America precisely. He hailed from Argentina and his full name was Jorge Mario Bergoglio.
The Pope passed at the age of 88, in Nigeria his death would be coined ‘a celebration of life’, rather than, ‘a painful or untimely exit’ because he had lived a good life, one in which he always preached love and peace. His final sermon on Easter Sunday corroborates this, as he made intercessions for peace in Gaza and Ukraine. The Pope is also well known for preaching against marginalisation of the LGBTQ+ community, which many praised. I could go and on about his achievements in various sectors, but one piece wouldn’t be enough.
Pope Francis Popemobiles
Many of the above stated facts about the Pope are well known, but did you know that outside the pulpit, the Pope also had a pretty interesting garage comprising a fleet of cars widely dubbed the ‘Popemobiles’.
I attended a Catholic secondary school and I remember that my principals, who were priests, had really nice cars. One in particular was sort of a gearhead and he had about 5 cars that he kept in mint condition. His friends and other priests who would usually visit also had nice cars as well. Some of these cars were bought with their own personal money, but many were gifted to them.
One car I remember vividly, was a 2011 Kia Optima that was gifted to one of my principals in 2011. Yes, you read that right, he was gifted a 2011 model car in 2011. I remember always looking at that car in awe because it looked so good. Just like my principals, Pope Francis was gifted quite a number of cars. Let’s take a look at some of them.
2024 Mercedes G-Wagon Convertible (Custom)
Kicking off the list with one of the Pope’s cool rides, is a Mercedes G Wagon, and not just any random G Wagon, a recent year all-electric G-Class. This vehicle was gifted to the Pope late last year in December by Mercedes Benz, spearheaded by its CEO, Ola Källenius. Aside from being all-electric, this G Wagon was custom-made for the Pope. As with many of his cars, his G Wagon is painted snow white.
Like his other cars, colloquially known as the ‘Popemobiles’, his custom G Wagon was designed in such a way that there is a raised armchair-style seat behind the driver and front passenger that can swivel. This allowed the Pope to easily greet crowds during visits throughout the world, whilst sitting comfortably. Smaller seats were also fitted on both sides of the Pope’s chair for bodyguards. More so, it had a detachable see-through roof or covering that I guess is bullet-proof.
The Popes all-electric custom G Wagon was said to cost about 430,000 USD (690 million naira) to make. However, a base model starts at about 160,000 USD (260 million naira). Its all-electric powertrain is good for 579 horsepower (hp). It has a 0 to 60 mph time of 4.1 seconds and a top speed that is electronically limited to 112 mph.
2019 Dacia Duster (Custom)
Another car owned by the Pope was a Renault/Dacia Duster. The car was gifted to the Pope by the Renault Group in 2019. Just like the aforementioned G-Wagon, the Popes Dacia Duster had about the same custom features.
A base 2019 Dacia Duster starts at about 20,000 USD (32 million naira). It is not a sports car, hence, it has a basic 1.3-litre turbo four-cylinder engine that makes about 130hp. It has a 0 – 60mph time of about 10 seconds and a top speed of 109 mph. This is one of those point A to point B vehicles.
1984 Renault 4 GTL (Base)
This one is a rather funny looking, but cute classic vehicle. Unlike the aforementioned two, this particular car is stock. It was gifted to him by a fellow Priest, Father Renzo Zocca, in 2013. An interesting fact is that the Renault 4 GTL gifted to Pope Francis was identical to one he owned while he was still in Argentina. Father Renzo probably knew this and gifted him accordingly.
Built between 1961 and 1994, the Renault 4 GTL is considered one of the world’s first and original hatchbacks. It was available for sale in Europe, Africa, and South America where he lived. It had a pretty small 4-litre engine that made just 34 horsepower. There is no need to talk about 0 – 60 mph times or top speed numbers. The Renault took Pope Francis to church and back, end of story.
The 1984 Renault 4 GTL is not a sought after classic, so it doesn’t cost as much. Car & Classic has two listed for 15,000 USD and 7,000 USD (24 and 11 million naira respectively). A humble car for a humble Priest.
2006 Ford Focus (Base)
Another of the Popes’ rather humble cars was the Ford Focus. He used a dark blue 2006 Ford Focus for his daily movements around the Vatican City. This car made use of a 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine that produces about 130 horsepower. It had a fair 0 – 60 mph time of 8 – 10 seconds and a top speed of 112 mph. The Pope was probably never in a rush, so he didn’t need a supercar like the next on the list for daily commute.
Lamborghini Huracan EVO RWD (Base)
I kicked off the list with a cool car, so I decided to wrap it up with an even cooler one. In 2017, Lamborghini gifted Pope Francis a custom Huracán EVO RWD. This particular Huracan was painted in a colour called Vatican white with gold accents. A Huracan EVO RWD has a naturally aspirated 5.2-liter V10 engine that produces about 602 horsepower. It goes from 0 – 60 in a blistering 3.3 seconds and has a top speed of 201 mph.
Mouth-watering figures right, but don’t get too excited just yet because Pope Francis auctioned this beautiful piece of machinery. The car sold for about 970,000 USD (1.5 billion naira), just shy of a million dollars. The proceeds of the auction then went towards supporting charities aiding Iraqi Christians, trafficking victims, and African communities.
What it boils down to…
Pope Francis’ car collection was a perfect mix of humble and expensive vehicles. Despite some of his pricey car collection, he lived a life of humble service to the poor, just like his patron, Saint Francis of Assisi. May his soul rest in perfect peace, Amen. The election of the new Pope is still underway and I guess some of the aforementioned cars would be handed down to whom I believe would be Pope Francis II. The new Pope will also be gifted new cars and I anticipate what cars he would get. Which of Pope Francis’ cars is your favourite?
