POPEMOBILE

"'Pope-mobile'" is an informal name for the specially designed automobile that is used by the Pope during public appearances. Several models have been used: the first time traveled to his home country, the white painted vehicle (one of two made) was based on the mark ''Star'', a small truck from a firm in Starachowice with a speed of six kilometres per hour; A Ford Transit truck was converted in 1979 for Pope John Paul II's first visit to Ireland, bigger than the one used today in the Vatican; yet another is a modified Mercedes-Benz with a small windowed "room" in the back where the Pope stands. Following the attempted assassination of Pope John Paul II in 1981, the pope-mobile was fitted with bulletproof glass on four sides. However, it was sometimes driven with open windows. In the early days of his Papacy, Pope Benedict XVI used an open-topped vehicle.
Several vehicles used for the Pope's overseas visits remain in the host country and were reused on his subsequent visits. The Mexican ''Papamóvil'', for example, was brought out into the public during John Paul II's funeral. Similarly, the Philippines automobile manufacturer Francisco Motors produced the custom popemobile for the 1995 Papal visit. It cost millions from voluntary contributions in the private sector and, as with the Irish vehicle, had bulletproof windows, bombproof parts, and it was inspected by the Swiss Guards with success. When John Paul II died, this pope-mobile was briefly borrowed by parish officials of the Quiapo Church for display. It became an instant pilgrimage site to ordinary Filipino devotees who could not afford to go to the Vatican for the Pope's burial ceremonies.
Past and present popemobiles have been adapted Mercedes-Benz off-road vehicles. A converted 230 G Geländewagen was built for John Paul II's visit to Germany in 1980.^[1] One of the current models is actually based on an M-Class sports-utility vehicle built in the United States. The ML430-based popemobile was presented to John Paul II in June 2002.^[2]
For John Paul II's visit to England, Land Rover produced a specially-modified version of one of its vehicles, which now resides at the Imperial Palace in Las Vegas. During the Pope's visit to Canada in 1984, a modified Canadian-built GMC Sierra was used, and was briefly on display at the Canada Museum of Science and Technology in 2005.
Ford Motor Company also produced a series of popemobiles for the Vatican based on their presidential limos. For example, the custom built 1964 Lehmann-Peterson was used by Pope Paul VI in his 1965 New York visit and was reused in 1970 in Bogotá.
In 2006, an armor-plated popemobile used by John Paul II during his visit to Britain in 1982 was sold at auction for £37,000 ($70,500) in Scotland to a man from Ireland.
A Mercedes-Benz 230 G Popemobile (one of two built) has been retired and is currently on display at the Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart, Germany.
In 2002, Pope John Paul II requested that the media stop referring to the car as the Popemobile, finding this term undignified, but without success.^[3]
On June 6, 2007, a German man tried to jump into Pope Benedict XVI's uncovered popemobile as the pontiff began his general audience. The pope was not hurt and didn't even appear to notice that the 27 year-old man had jumped over the protective barrier in the square and had grabbed onto the white Fiat popemobile as it drove by. At least eight security officers who were trailing the vehicle as it moved slowly through the square grabbed the man and wrestled him to the ground. The man was interrogated by Vatican police and then taken to a hospital for psychiatric treatment.^[4]

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External links

References

External links

★ Lehmann-Peterson Popemobile Limousine

★ ''Courting the Vatican: Who Will Build the Next Popemobile?''

★ '' BBC NEWS Europe Bidding brisk as Popemobile sold''

References

1. Mercedes-Benz Museum - section C4 Gallery of Celebrities - 1980 230 G Popemobile
2. 2002 – Mercedes-Benz ML 430 with special bodywork
3. CBC News
4. Times of India