Francis's popemobile to become a mobile clinic for children in Gaza [View all]
Source: The Guardian
Mon 5 May 2025 11.25 EDT
Last modified on Mon 5 May 2025 14.57 EDT
Just over a decade ago, the converted Mitsubishi whisked Pope Francis through the streets of Bethlehem before it was left to gather dust. Now, in keeping with one of the late pontiff’s last wishes, the popemobile is being given a second life – as a mobile health clinic for children in the Gaza Strip.
In a region ravaged by more than 18 months of war, the initiative is both symbolic and practical, said Peter Brune, the secretary general of the Catholic charity Caritas Sweden. “We call it a vehicle of hope because it conveys a message to the children of Gaza that peace is possible, there will be peace, you will have a future and the world has not forgotten about you. And then there’s the very practical dimension in that it will actually deliver medical aid to affected children.”
Brune and his counterpart at Caritas Jerusalem, Anton Asfar, came up with the idea late last year. They soon arranged to have the question put to Pope Francis. “We got a letter from the pope saying, ‘Yes I’m glad to say that I fully endorse this idea’,” said Brune. Work swiftly began on fitting out the vehicle, which had been left sitting in Bethlehem since the 2014 visit, with supplies such as rapid tests for infections, suture kits and oxygen as well as a refrigerator for medication.
It will be used to diagnose and treat children who have no access to healthcare, bolstering the aid provided by Caritas Jerusalem, which has about 100 staff on the ground in Gaza. “This is a concrete, life-saving intervention at a time when the health system in Gaza has almost completely collapsed,” said Brune.
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/may/05/francis-popemobile-mobile-clinic-children-gaza
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