(ZENIT News / Rome, 05.07.2025).- In what may be remembered as one of the most poignant gestures of his pontificate, Pope Francis, shortly before his death on April 21, issued a quiet but powerful request: that his Popemobile, once a symbol of his closeness to the faithful, be transformed into a mobile medical clinic for the children of Gaza. That request is now becoming a reality.
The vehicle, iconic for its clear, bulletproof dome and familiar white frame, is undergoing a transformation in Sweden under the direction of Caritas Jerusalem, in collaboration with Caritas Sweden. Soon, it will re-emerge not as a ceremonial vehicle but as a lifeline — equipped with diagnostic tools, infection testing kits, sutures, syringes, oxygen supplies, vaccines, and a medical-grade refrigerator for transporting essential medications.
In a region where medical infrastructure has nearly collapsed and humanitarian corridors remain choked by conflict, the vehicle stands ready to become a rare source of healing. Once access routes reopen, it will be deployed into the heart of Gaza to reach children left stranded by war — children for whom even the simplest fever can prove fatal in the absence of care.
“This vehicle embodies the love, compassion, and solidarity that His Holiness extended to the most vulnerable throughout this crisis,” said Anton Asfar, Secretary General of Caritas Jerusalem, speaking to the Italian Religious Information Service (SIR). Asfar added that the initiative comes with a renewed appeal for “an immediate and lasting ceasefire,” echoing the Pope’s tireless calls for peace in Gaza until his final days.
Even during his declining health, Pope Francis remained spiritually and materially invested in the suffering communities of the world. He placed personal phone calls to Gaza’s only Catholic parish, offered prayers for peace, and ordered the mobilization of aid long after he could no longer travel.
The initiative echoes a broader humanitarian strategy that Pope Francis championed throughout his papacy. In Ukraine, where conflict continues to devastate civilians, he directed the delivery of 131 shipments of essential supplies — from medicine to hygiene products — often organized through his trusted papal almoner, Cardinal Konrad Krajewski. Father Marco Yaroslav Semehen, pastor of the Ukrainian church of Santa Sofia in Rome, recalled that «every truck bore the mark of Francis’s care,» adding, “he never let our hope die.”
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