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Pope John Paul II on a popemobile

John Paul II in Saint Peter's Square in 2004

Popemobile is an informal name for the specially designed motor vehicle used by the Pope during public appearances. It is a portmanteau of the terms Pope and automobile. Several models have been used: the first time Pope John Paul II travelled to his home country, the white painted vehicle (one of two made) was based on the Polish mark Star, a small truck from a firm in Starachowice with a speed of six kilometres per hour; another was created in 1979 for Pope John Paul II's first visit to Ireland, bigger than the one used today in the Vatican; yet another is a modified Mercedes-Benz with a small windowed "room" in the back where the Pope stands. Following the attempted assassination of Pope John Paul II in 1981, the popemobile was fitted with bulletproof glass on four sides. However, it was sometimes driven with open windows. In the early days of his Papacy, Pope Benedict XVI used an open-topped vehicle.

Several vehicles used for the Pope's overseas visits remain in the host country and were reused on his subsequent visits. The Mexican Papamóvil, for example, was brought out into the public during John Paul II's funeral. Similarly, the Philippines automobile manufacturer Francisco Motors produced the custom popemobile for the 1995 Papal visit. It cost millions from voluntary contributions in the private sector and, as with the Irish vehicle, had bulletproof windows, bombproof parts, and it was inspected by the Swiss Guards with success. When John Paul II died, this popemobile was briefly borrowed by parish officials of the Quiapo Church for display. It became an instant pilgrimage site to ordinary Filipino devotees who could not afford to go to the Vatican for the Pope's burial ceremonies.

Past popemobiles were adapted Mercedes-Benz G-Class off-road vehicles, and current models are actually based on the ML-series of sports-utility vehicles sold in the United States. For John Paul II's visit to England, Land Rover produced a specially-modified version of one of its vehicles, which now resides at the Imperial Palace in Las Vegas.

Ford Motor Company also produced a series of popemobiles for the Vatican based on their presidential limos. For example, the custom built 1964 Lehmann-Peterson was used by Pope Paul VI in his 1965 New York visit and was reused in 1970 in Bogotá.

In 2006, an armour-plated popemobile used by John Paul II during his visit to Britain in 1982 was sold at auction for £37,000 ($70,500) in Scotland to a man from Ireland.

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• Lehmann-Peterson Popemobile Limousine. Daves (Lehmann-Peterson) Pictures. Retrieved on 11 April, 2005.
• Courting the Vatican: Who Will Build the Next Popemobile?
• BBC NEWS Europe Bidding brisk as Popemobile sold

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