The Pope's Ride For USA Visit

POPE FRANCIS TO USE HIS JEEP POPEMOBILE IN U.S.

By Marty Bernstein
Senior Editor at Large
The Auto Channel

August 27, 2015; In just a few weeks Pope Francis will begin a short visit – just six days -- to the United States and while here will be driven around in the hot selling and specially modified by the Secret Service Jeep Wrangler. If Popemobile history continues the Jeep will be painted white when the leader of the world’s Catholics during his visits Washington, DC where he will meet with President Obama and address a joint session of Congress and continue to Philadelphia, PA and New York City, NY where he is expected to conduct outdoor masses.

Previous automobile manufacturers including Hyundai, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan and Jeep have provided the open-air Popemobile’s used in the peripatetic Pope’s visits to various countries.

In addition to formal events to welcome Pope Francis to the United States there will be vast array of welcoming activities including various items of memorabilia according to the Wall Street Journal.

In Philadelphia, where the Pope will hold an outdoor mass on September 27, this includes un-holy mozzarella cheese shaped to resemble the Holy Father; there’s a Pope toaster that creates an image of the Pope on a piece of toast; naturally there are locally themes T-shirts with a waving Pope Francis among images of the Liberty Bell with and messages including “Yo Pontiff and the Pope is my homeboy”; if you can imagine it a bubble-head of the Pope is also planned.

New York will have special items while in Washington, the Journal noted, will have visit-themed mugs, T-shirts, rosaries and holy water bottles and special prayer cards from the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception where the Pope will celebrate mass on September 23. Naturally there is some controversy about these kitschy items but they will be sold.

Below you can see a few of the previous Popemobiles.