A vehicle used by the late Pope Francis during a visit to Bethlehem more than a decade ago has been transformed into a mobile health clinic that Christian leaders hope will soon be used to provide care to Palestinian children in Gaza.
The initiative was blessed by Francis before he died in April and was entrusted to the Catholic organisation Caritas, which oversaw the project to convert the vehicle unveiled yesterday.
“We’re pleased that we have here a serious contribution towards the healthcare of children in Gaza,” Caritas Secretary-General Alistair Dutton told a Press conference in Bethlehem.
Francis had used the vehicle, a converted Mitsubishi pick-up that was donated by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, during his visit to Bethlehem in 2014.
The open platform at the back of the vehicle, where the pope once stood as he travelled through Bethlehem, has now been enclosed and converted into the children’s treatment area.
“This vehicle stands as a testimony that the world has not forgotten the children of Gaza,” said Cardinal Anders Arborelius of Stockholm, who had approached Francis before his death about Caritas’ idea of converting the former popemobile into a mobile paediatric clinic.
Caritas Sweden Secretary-General Peter Brune said that the mobile clinic was capable of treating around 200 children a day.
But it was unclear when the vehicle would enter Gaza, where a ceasefire still formally holds despite frequent Israeli air strikes on the territory battered by two years of war.
“As soon as we possibly can,” Dutton said, declining to comment further. COGAT, the Israeli government agency responsible for coordinating the entry of aid into the enclave, declined to comment when asked about the request.
Father Ibrahim Faltas said he hoped the vehicle would be moved to Gaza in the ‘near future’.
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