Pope Francis’ Popemobile To Become Mobile Clinic For Gaza’s Children (image-X/Cyrus_In_The_X)

Vatican City: Fulfilling one of his final wishes, one of Pope Francis’ popemobiles is being transformed into a mobile health clinic for children in the Gaza Strip, the Vatican’s official media outlet said on Sunday.

The repurposed popemobile is being outfitted with equipment for diagnosis, examination, and treatment, including rapid tests for infections, diagnostic instruments, vaccines, suture kits, and other life-saving supplies. With doctors and medics onboard, the vehicle is expected to reach children in the most isolated corners of war-torn Gaza once humanitarian access to Gaza is restored.

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“This is a concrete, life-saving intervention at a time when the health system in Gaza has almost completely collapsed,” said Peter Brune, Secretary General of Caritas Sweden, in a press release.

Months before his death, Pope Francis had entrusted the initiative to the Catholic aid organisation Caritas Jerusalem, said Vatican News.

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

Notably, the popemobile was used by the late pontiff during his 2014 visit to the Holy Land.

Gaza has a small Christian community. The Vatican had previously said that Francis would call the Holy Family Church, the only Catholic Church in the strip, on an almost daily basis for much of the war. The church has been operating as a de facto shelter for its community of worshippers and some Muslims as Israel continues its military campaigns in the area.

In his last speech hours before his death, as well, the late pontiff had called for a ceasefire in Gaza, peace in Ukraine and other places including Congo and Myanmar.

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Francis had also controversially installed a Nativity scene during Christmas festivities depicting a baby Jesus swaddled in a keffiyeh, a traditional Palestinian garment now associated with pro-Palestine movements and activism, which the Vatican removed from display shortly after it was put on display.

The Conclave, the process for choosing a new pope, will vote for Francis’ successor assembles on Wednesday.