Pope Francis arrives in Uganda on Friday afternoon, but his official vehicle (the Popemobile) is already in the country.
The vehicle, an Isuzu D-Max was fuelled at Shell Jinja Road last night, Watchdog.co.ug shared the images that were taken using a mobile phone as no cameras were allowed at the fuel station.
Pope Francis loves modesty and despite the previous Pope using Mercedes Benz customised pope mobiles, this car is based on an Isuzu D-Max pick-up and it was customised by Isuzu Kenya.
“The Isuzu D-Max popemobile was designed with the security and comfort of Pope Francis in mind. The double-cab was customised for the pope’s chair and additional seats for his companions. A shield made of plexiglass was placed in front to protect the pope from the elements. Sturdy railings were attached to the sides of the vehicle for the pope and his security personnel to hold on to while in transit. The pope’s emblem emblazoned with a banig design adds a Filipino touch to the car. The chair is made from Italian leather with red carpet imported from Italy,” read notes about the car from the Isuzu Kenya Facebook page.
A small black vehicle was fuelled along with the Popemobile. It is believed that the Pope will use the popemobile where he needs to interact with crowds and the small car when he is not expected to interact with crowds lining the roads.
The Pope loves to travel modest and during his September visit to the US, he ditched a stretch limousine for a little black Fiat.
“It hurts me when I see a priest or nun with the latest model car; you can’t do this,” Pope Francis said, as quoted by Reuters. “A car is necessary to a lot of work, but please, choose a more humble one. If you like the fancy one, just think about how many children are dying of hunger in the world.”