Pope Francis’ Popemobile reborn as medical clinic for Gaza children

A vehicle once used by the late Pope Francis during his 2014 visit to the Holy Land is being converted into a mobile health clinic for children in Gaza, turning one of the late pontiff’s last wishes into action.

The initiative, led by Caritas Jerusalem, comes at a time when the region’s healthcare system has nearly collapsed due to ongoing conflict.

The Popemobile, which remained in the area after the Pope’s return to the Vatican, is being fitted with emergency and diagnostic tools aimed at reaching children in communities with no access to medical services.

It will include vaccines, suture kits, infection tests, and be staffed with trained health professionals.

The Vatican’s official media reported on Sunday that Francis, who died last month, had personally entrusted the project to 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," said Peter Brune, Secretary General of Caritas Sweden, which is supporting the project.

The mobile unit will be dispatched as soon as conditions on the ground allow humanitarian access.

Caritas says the plan is to send it into areas where children are most in need and no functioning health facilities remain.

"It’s not just a vehicle," Brune explained. "It’s a message that the world has not forgotten about the children in Gaza."

Before his death, Francis showed continued concern for Gaza, calling the Holy Family Church in the region nearly every day during the war that began in October 2023.

The ongoing conflict broke out after Hamas launched an attack on southern Israel.

Gaza’s Christian population is very small, but the Pope’s consistent contact with the church highlighted his deep care for the region.