Pope's old popemobile to become mobile health clinic for Gaza’s children

One of Pope Francis’s former popemobiles is being repurposed as a mobile health clinic for children in Gaza, fulfilling one of his final wishes, the Vatican’s official media outlet announced on Sunday.

The vehicle, which the late pontiff used during his 2014 visit to the Holy Land, is now being outfitted with emergency medical equipment and diagnostic tools to support young patients in the besieged enclave, where hospitals and clinics have been decimated by Israel’s ongoing assault.

Before his death last month, Pope Francis entrusted the project to Caritas Jerusalem, according to Vatican News.

“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 helping implement the initiative.

The clinic-on-wheels will carry vaccines, rapid infection tests, suturing kits, and diagnostic devices, and will be staffed by medical professionals. Caritas intends to send it into communities cut off from functioning medical facilities as soon as humanitarian access allows.

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