Pope Francis last wish: Popemobile be used as mobile clinic for children in Gaza

The so-called popemobiles are the vehicles the leaders of the Catholic Church have used over the years on papal visits to various countries and territories. 

It is one of a number of specially converted vehicles allowing the pontiff to greet huge crowds of well-wishers during official visits; He was able to sit or stand while it rolled along, flanked by security agents, and its design allowed those gathered to have a clear view of the Pope.

The Vatican's media service Vatican News reported that Pope Francis, who passed away last month, entrusted the project to the Catholic aid organization 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," Peter Brune, Secretary General of Caritas Sweden, which is supporting the project, told Vatican News.

It is the same vehicle used by Francis on his trip to the Holy Land in 2014 and it will be outfitted with equipment for diagnosis, medical examinations and treatment, the Vatican's media service reported on Sunday.

It'll also be equipped with rapid tests, suture kits, syringes, oxygen supplies, vaccines and a small fridge for storing medicines.

The vehicle will be staffed by doctors and medics and would be tasked with reaching children in isolated parts of Gaza.

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

Vatican News quoted Francis as often saying: "Children are not numbers. They are faces. Names. Stories. And each one is sacred."

Pope Francis had been a vocal advocate of peace in Gaza and condemned the bombing of children in the Palestinian territory and called for an end to hostilities.

Since the war in Gaza started in 2023, Pope Francis made sure to regularly call Palestinians sheltering in a small Catholic parish in Gaza City.

The war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip has killed more than 15,000 children and displaced nearly one million since it erupted in October 2023, Unicef reports.

Israel has blocked humanitarian aid from entering the Strip for more than two months, which has left "families struggling to survive" as food, clean water and medicines reach critically low levels, the UN agency for children said.

For now, Caritas will have to wait until Israel reopens the aid corridor - but when that happens, they say they will be ready.