Vatican marks a century of popemobiles with exhibition of eight historic vehicles

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These are some holy rollers.

The Vatican is paying homage to the popemobile with a new exhibition.

“A Century of the Popemobile,” featuring eight Mercedes-Benz that popes have used since 1930, opened this week.

Pope Leo XIV explained the evolution of the popemobile ahead of the launch of the exhibit — housed in a glass pavilion in the Vatican Museums’ Giardino Quadrato.

“Over the decades, the popemobile has evolved from a means of transportation into an instrument of encounter, enabling the pontiff to draw closer to the faithful during pastoral visits and public celebrations,” Pope Leo told organizers of the exhibit during a private meeting at the Vatican on Wednesday, according to Religion News Service.

“In this way, your work has helped facilitate the church’s mission of reaching out to people and bringing a message of faith, hope and charity to the world,” he added.

The exhibit, which will run until January, does not feature every popemobile, but only ones manufactured by Mercedes, which has supplied most of them.

“Over 100 years, each pope has received a popemobile from Mercedes-Benz and used it as a vehicle of dialogue, as a vehicle of sharing and blessing and seeing the people and traveling,” Barbara Jatta, director of the Vatican Museums, told the outlet.

The oldest car featured is the first official popemobile — a black Nürburg 460 limousine — gifted in 1930 to Pope Pius XI, who served from 1922 until 1939, by the German car manufacturer.

It “was specifically built, designed, and prepared for papal use, so much so that just by comparing it, you can see how it transitions from the serial to the unique,” Sandro Barbagallo, curator of the Historical Collections Department at the Vatican Museums, told CNN.

“From this point, it is clear how all the cars were then made, precisely to allow the pope to be seen, but to be seen and to see in total safety and, I would even say, comfort.”

Before Pope Pius XI, popes used horse-drawn carriages and gestatorial chairs, which were carried aloft on the shoulders of attendants.

The term popemobile was coined by the press during Pope Paul VI’s visit to New York in 1965, where he rode in a custom Lincoln Continental.

Another vehicle on display is Pope John XXIII’s Mercedes-Benz 300 d Landaulet from 1960, which featured removable rear side windows, marking the beginning of a trend toward allowing popes to get closer to the faithful.

In 1965, Mercedes-Benz presented the 600 Pullman Landaulet to Pope Paul VI, which is also on display. It featured a raised roof and folding top, allowing the pontiff to be seen more clearly in the open car.

In 1980, a more modern popemobile, the Mercedes-Benz 230 G, was built for John Paul II’s visit to Germany. It featured a transparent Plexiglas dome to keep him both protected and visible to the crowds.

Pope Leo also spoke about the first electric popemobile — presented to Pope Francis, often called the “Green Pope” for his environmental advocacy — in 2024.

“In this spirit, I encourage you to continue placing technological innovation at the service of human dignity, care for creation and the common good,” he said.