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Popemobile

"Papamobile" redirects here and is not to be confused with Papabile.
Pope Francis in a Jeep J8 popemobile in Washington, D.C. during his September 2015 visit

The popemobile (Latin: papacinetum or papocinetum; Italian: papamobile) is a specially designed motor vehicle used by the pope for public appearances.[1] It is the successor to the sedia gestatoria (portable throne) and is designed to make the pope more visible when greeting large crowds.

There have been many different designs for popemobiles. Some are open-air, while others have bulletproof glass walls to enclose the pope, deemed necessary following the 1981 assassination attempt on Pope John Paul II. Some allow the pope to sit, while others are designed to accommodate him standing. The Roman Curia selects an appropriate popemobile for each usage depending upon the level of security needed, distance and speed of travel, and the pope's preferences.

Mercedes-Benz has been the most frequent provider of papal vehicles since it provided the Vatican with its first popemobile in 1930.[2][3][4][5] The Vatican acquired its first electric popemobile in December 2024, and has said that it plans to make all popemobiles electric by 2030.[4]

The vehicle registration plates of Vatican City all begin with the letters "SCV", an abbreviation of the Latin Status Civitatis Vaticanae ("Vatican City State"), followed by the vehicle fleet number. The registration plate for the Ford Focus used by Pope Francis, the most recent pope, was "SCV 00919".[6] In the past, the popemobile has typically used registration plate "SCV 1", although plates numbered "SCV 2" to "SCV 9" have also been used.[7]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference PeekInside was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Lewis, Danny (September 17, 2015). "A Brief History of the Popemobile". Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved December 5, 2024.
  3. ^ Popemobile. Briticanna. Retrieved December 5, 2024.
  4. ^ a b Wise, Alana (December 5, 2024). "Pope Francis goes electric in new eco-friendly popemobile". NPR. Retrieved December 5, 2024.
  5. ^ "Pope Francis receives first electric "Popemobile" from Mercedes-Benz". Mercedes Benz USA. December 4, 2024. Retrieved December 5, 2024.
  6. ^ Hilotin, Jay (3 February 2019). "Popemobiles through the years". Gulf News. Retrieved 22 April 2025.
  7. ^ Guglielmo Evangelista. "LE TARGHE E I VEICOLI DELLA CITTÁ DEL VATICANO" (PDF) (in Italian). Retrieved May 7, 2013.
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