Popemobile to become mobile clinic for Gaza's children
(VOVWORLD) - One of Pope Francis’s popemobiles is to be repurposed and will become a mobile health clinic for children in Gaza, in accordance with the late pontiff's last wishes.
 The popemobile donated to serve the children of Gaza will be outfitted with specialized equipment and will be operated by doctors and medics in the Palestinian territory (photo: Andrew Medichini/REUTERS) |
The so-called popemobiles are the vehicles the leaders of the Catholic Church have used over the years on papal visits to various countries and territories. The Vatican's media service Vatican News reported that Pope Francis, who passed away last month, entrusted the project to the Catholic aid organization Caritas Jerusalem in the months before his death. "This is a concrete, life-saving intervention at a time when the health system in Gaza has almost completely collapsed," Peter Brune, Secretary General of Caritas Sweden, which is supporting the project, told Vatican News.
The vehicle will be staffed by doctors and medics and would be tasked with reaching children in isolated parts of Gaza.
"It's not just a vehicle," Brune added. "It's a message that the world has not forgotten about the children in Gaza."
Vatican News quoted Francis as often saying: "Children are not numbers. They are faces. Names. Stories. And each one is sacred."
This week, Catholic cardinals will enter a sealed conclave to elect a new Pope.