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Pope Francis’s Popemobile to Provide Mobile Healthcare for Gaza’s Children

Caritas Jerusalem and Caritas Sweden are converting the late pontiff’s vehicle into a mobile clinic, awaiting Israeli approval for deployment.

Pope Francis waves to the crowd, from his popemobile, as he arrives at the Manger Square before presiding over an open-air mass on May 25, 2014, outside the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, West Bank. Pope Francis arrived in Bethlehem to begin the most sensitive part of his three-day Middle East tour aimed at forging regional peace and easing an age-old rift within Christianity.
Pope Francis waves to the crowd from inside his pope-mobile as he arrives at Manger Square to celebrate an open air mass on May 25, 2014 in the West Bank Biblical town of Bethlehem.
Pope Francis arrives to celebrate mass in Manger Square next to the Church of the Nativity, believed by many to be the birthplace of Jesus Christ, in the West Bank city of Bethlehem May 25, 2014. REUTERS/Andrew Medichini/Pool/File Photo
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Overview

  • The popemobile, used by Pope Francis during his 2014 visit to Bethlehem, is being transformed into a mobile health clinic for children in Gaza as one of his final wishes.
  • Caritas Jerusalem, with support from Caritas Sweden, is retrofitting the vehicle with diagnostic tools, vaccines, suture kits, and blast-proof windows to address Gaza’s healthcare crisis.
  • The mobile clinic, staffed by a doctor and nurse, aims to deliver care to children in areas with damaged or inaccessible medical facilities.
  • Israeli authorization is still required to bring the vehicle into Gaza, where humanitarian access has been severely restricted since March 2025.
  • Pope Francis maintained close ties with Gaza’s Christian community during his papacy, making nightly calls to the Holy Family Church throughout the conflict.