SOURCE :- THE AGE NEWS
London: An iconic popemobile once used by Pope Francis to greet adoring crowds around the world will now be deployed on a very different mission – serving as a mobile health clinic for children in Gaza.
More than a decade after it carried the late pope through the streets of Bethlehem during his 2014 visit, the white Mitsubishi pickup is being repurposed to deliver life-saving care to some of Gaza’s most vulnerable.
A May 2014 photo showing Pope Francis en route to a mass in Manger Square next to the Church of the Nativity, traditionally believed to be the birthplace of Jesus Christ, in the West Bank city of Bethlehem.Credit: AP
The decision was one of Francis’s final wishes before his death on April 28, according to the Vatican News and confirmed by The New York Times.
The vehicle, originally a gift from Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, was passed on to the Franciscan order following the papal visit.
Now, in partnership with the Catholic aid organisation Caritas Jerusalem, it is being retrofitted with blast-proof windows, medical equipment for wound care, rapid diagnostic tools and vaccines. The mobile clinic will be staffed by a doctor and nurse and is expected to be ready within weeks.
It is not, however, just a health intervention. For those behind the project, it’s a message.
“This is not just a vehicle,” Peter Brune, secretary general of Caritas Sweden, said. “It’s a message that the world has not forgotten about the children of Gaza.”
Caritas Jerusalem, which has operated in Gaza for decades under enormous strain, is leading the project and awaiting Israeli approval to deliver the vehicle into the territory.
The group says the mobile clinic will bring essential healthcare to areas where hospitals have been bombed or shuttered, and where children face increasing threats from untreated wounds, malnutrition and preventable diseases.
“This vehicle represents the love, care and closeness shown by His Holiness for the most vulnerable,” Anton Asfar, secretary general of Caritas Jerusalem, said.
“He expressed that throughout the crisis, and now, through this mission, that closeness endures.”
Pope Francis prays during his visit to the West Bank in 2014.Credit: AP
For the late pope, Gaza’s suffering was never distant. According to Father Gabriel Romanelli, pastor of Gaza City’s Holy Family Church – the only Catholic parish in the strip – Francis called the parish every evening for more than a year and a half. At around 8pm each night, he would speak to the priests and to the Palestinians sheltering inside the church, offering prayers, comfort, and encouragement.
“He shows us his paternity. He is very close to us,” Romanelli told CNN last week. “All the time he called us throughout this war – this horrible war – he would call for peace and send his blessings to all of Gaza’s people.”
The Pope had also called for the release of hostages, met with their relatives and condemned the Hamas-led attack on October 7, which left some 1200 people dead and about 250 abducted.
Francis had been an outspoken critic of the siege and a consistent voice for peace. In what would be his final Easter message, delivered a day before his death, he said he hoped “the light of peace radiate throughout the Holy Land and the entire world.”
Now, that message is being carried forward – literally.
Caritas Jerusalem estimates the vehicle will begin operating later this month. The medical team will prioritise areas with the highest child casualty rates and the least access to healthcare. Funding for the conversion was provided by Caritas Sweden and private donors.
Negotiations with Israeli authorities for entry into Gaza are ongoing.
The project is part of a wider emergency medical response co-ordinated by Catholic aid agencies across the region. Officials say if the pilot is successful, additional vehicles may be converted for similar use
