Pope’s popemobile to serve Gaza clinic

The popemobile once used by Pope Francis during his 2014 visit to Bethlehem is being transformed into a mobile clinic to treat children in war-torn Gaza, fulfilling the late pontiff’s wish to ease the suffering of civilians and care for young victims of the conflict.

Caritas Jerusalem, the international development agency of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference, announced on May 4 that the vehicle used by Pope Francis during his 2014 visit to Bethlehem is currently being converted into a mobile pediatric clinic. The modified vehicle will carry supplies including rapid diagnostic test kits, suture tools, oxygen tanks, and vaccines. It will also allow medical staff to travel and treat children directly.

After his 2014 visit to Palestine, Pope Francis donated the popemobile to Caritas. The idea to convert it into a clinic was proposed last November by Swedish Cardinal Anders Arborelius and reportedly approved by the Pope.

Pope Francis paid special attention to the Gaza conflict. After the war broke out, he made near-daily phone calls to the region, offering comfort and asking about the situation. Just two days before his death, on April 19, he made one final call, and in his last Easter Mass on April 20, he condemned the war in Gaza and called for a ceasefire. He was especially heartbroken over the deaths of innocent children. Following Israeli airstrikes that killed children in Gaza, he denounced the attacks as acts of brutality.

Peter Brune, secretary general of Caritas Sweden, said, “This is not just a medical vehicle. It sends a message to the world that Gaza’s children have not been forgotten.” Cardinal Arborelius told The New York Times that the popemobile’s transformation is “a very concrete symbol that Pope Francis deeply cared about the suffering of children in Gaza.”


Ji-Sun Choi aurinko@donga.com