The Vehicle of Hope

CARITAS SWEDEN & CARITAS JERUSALEM

In his final months, Pope Francis directed the humanitarian organization Caritas to turn his popemobile into a mobile health station for the children in Gaza. The purpose of the initiative is to safeguard and uphold children’s fundamental rights and dignity.

The humanitarian situation in Gaza is increasingly critical, especially for the nearly one million displaced children. When access to food, water and healthcare is cut off, children are often the first and hardest hit. Starvation, infection and other preventable conditions put their lives at risk.

Before his passing, pope Francis made his popemobile available to Caritas Jerusalem, which is now turning it into a mobile health unit for children. When the humanitarian corridor to Gaza reopens it will be ready to give primary healthcare to children in Gaza.

Pope Francis blessed the endeavor and everyone involved in continuing his care for the vulnerable.

The vehicle will be staffed by a driver and medical doctors. It is currently being fitted with equipment for diagnosis, examination and treatment – including rapid tests for infections, suture kits, syringes and needles, oxygen supply, vaccines and a refrigerator for medicines.

Caritas Jerusalem has a long history of providing health care in Gaza under difficult conditions. The organisation has more than hundred staff on the ground.

‘It’s not just a vehicle, it’s a message that the world has not forgotten about the children in Gaza’

Peter Brune, Secretary General of Caritas Sweden.

“The papamobile is a very concrete sign that Pope Francis is concerned with all the suffering of children in Gaza, even after his death!”

Cardinal Anders Arborelius of Sweden

The initiative was launched on April 4, 2025 by an editorial article in The New York Times. The story has since been picked up by media outlets on an exceptional scale around the world.

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> The Washington Post