New Pope-mobile for Francis

An Italian priest has given Pope Francis a 20-year-old white Renault 4 to drive himself around the Vatican. 

The car – which has 300,000 km on the clock – was presented to the Pope by Fr Renzo Zocca. 

Known for his humble lifestyle, Francis said he used to drive the same car in his native Argentina.

After the Pope appealed to priests several months ago not to drive expensive cars but to save money and give it to the poor, Fr Zocca wrote him a letter saying he had used the same car for decades and wanted to gift it to the Pope.

Fr Zocca said he was moved by the Pope’s effort to create “a Church for the poor”, and told the Italian magazine Famiglia Cristiana that he wanted to give him a symbolic gift. “What better than my old Renault 4?” he asked.

Father Zocca said he was surprised to receive a phone call from the Pontiff accepting the gift. The priest turned up at his Vatican residence last weekend to present the car to him.