Pope Francis’s Popemobile Set to Become Health Clinic for Gaza Children
Vatican (Quds News Network)- One of Pope Francis’s popemobiles is being transformed into a mobile health clinic for children in Gaza, fulfilling one of the late pope’s final wishes, according to Vatican News.
The vehicle, used by the pontiff during his 2014 visit to the Holy Land, is being outfitted with diagnostic and emergency medical equipment to help young patients in the Palestinian enclave, where health services have been devastated by the Israeli genocide.
The report said that Francis, who died in March, entrusted the initiative to the Catholic aid organisation Caritas Jerusalem in the months before his death.
“This is a concrete, life-saving intervention at a time when the health system in Gaza has almost completely collapsed,” Peter Brune, the secretary-general of Caritas Sweden, which is supporting the project, told Vatican News.
Francis was outspoken about Israel’s assault on Gaza and suggested that the global community should examine whether the offensive constitutes genocide against the Palestinian people, describing the situation as “very serious and shameful” in January.
The mobile unit will be equipped with rapid infection tests, vaccines, diagnostic tools, and suture kits, and staffed by medical personnel. Caritas plans to deploy the clinic to communities without access to functioning healthcare facilities once humanitarian access to Gaza is feasible.
