A new Vatican exhibition titled “A Century of Popemobiles” traces nearly 100 years of papal transportation and its evolution from isolated limousines into open-air vehicles designed to connect with the faithful.
VATICAN CITY (RNS) — From luxurious silk brocade to quiet electric motors, a new exhibition at the Vatican Museums explores nearly a century of papal transportation. Titled “A Century of Popemobiles,” the display features eight historic vehicles that chronicle how the pope’s ride transformed from stately, isolated limousines into open-air vehicles designed for maximum connection with the faithful.
Opening to the public on Thursday through January 2027, the exhibit focuses specifically on the longstanding relationship between the papacy and German automaker Mercedes-Benz.
Breaking Isolation: The First Papal Cars
The partnership began in 1930, when Mercedes-Benz gifted Pope Pius XI a black Nürburg 460 limousine featuring a single, silk-brocade-upholstered rear seat and fine woodwork.
This gift marked a pivotal historical moment. For nearly 60 years following the capture of Rome in 1870 and the fall of the papal states, popes had self-isolated within the Vatican. It wasn’t until Pius XI signed the Lateran Pacts with the Italian kingdom—establishing Vatican City’s sovereignty—that the papacy stepped back out into the world, doing so with a brand-new set of wheels.
Over the decades, the design adapted to the shifting needs of the church:
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1965: Pope Paul VI received a custom 600 Pullman Landaulet equipped with wide doors, an intercom, a movable rear seat, and a folding roof over the passenger section—foreshadowing the modern popemobile.
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1980: Papal transport changed radically for Pope John Paul II’s visit to Germany. Mercedes developed the 230G, a pearly-white vehicle featuring an elevated, transparent Plexiglass dome that made the pontiff visible from afar.
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1981: Following the assassination attempt on John Paul II that same year, safety took precedence, prompting the addition of bullet-resistant glass and enhanced security features.
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2012: Pope Benedict XVI’s M-Class model introduced improved interior lighting, advanced air conditioning, and a more compact build to facilitate air travel.
Modern Shifts: Dialogue and Sustainability
While traditional limousines still coexisted alongside these specialty vehicles for formal events, the core purpose of the car had fundamentally shifted.
“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 XIV noted during a private audience with exhibit organizers at the Vatican.
Barbara Jatta, director of the Vatican Museums, echoed this sentiment in an interview with RNS: “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.”
Though not part of the physical museum collection, the evolution continued under Pope Francis. In December 2024, Mercedes-Benz presented the pontiff—author of the environmental encyclical Laudato Si’—with the Vatican’s first fully electric popemobile, complete with a heated seat and supportive handrails tailored to his mobility needs.
Reflecting on the exhibit’s broader themes, Pope Leo XIV remarked, “The exhibition offers an opportunity to reflect on the remarkable advances in automotive technology, as well as the deeper significance of the journeys undertaken by the Successors of Peter.”
“A Century of Popemobiles” is housed in a glass pavilion within the Vatican Museums’ Giardino Quadrato, situated near the Carriage Pavilion and the Pinacoteca art gallery.
