Pope Francis’ Final Gift: Mobile Clinic for Gaza’s Children

By Staff, Agencies

In one of his last humanitarian acts, the late Pope Francis repurposed a popemobile from his 2014 visit to the Holy Land to serve as a mobile medical clinic for children in Gaza, where the health system has been decimated by the ongoing "Israeli" invasion.

The vehicle is being transformed into a fully equipped mobile unit with diagnostic tools, emergency medical supplies, vaccines, and infection testing kits. Caritas Jerusalem, a Catholic aid organization, was entrusted with the project by Pope Francis in the months before his death, according to Vatican News.

Peter Brune, Secretary General of Caritas Sweden, called it a “concrete, life-saving intervention at a time when the health system in Gaza has almost completely collapsed.” Once access to Gaza becomes feasible, Caritas plans to deploy the clinic to communities cut off from healthcare.

UNICEF reports that more than 9,000 children in Gaza have required treatment for acute malnutrition since the start of 2024. The mobile clinic aims to provide much-needed care amid these dire conditions.

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

Although Gaza’s Christian population is small, the Vatican revealed that Pope Francis regularly called the Holy Family Church in Gaza throughout much of the war, which erupted in October 2023 after the Hamas-led operation in response to "Israeli" aggression.

The popemobile remained in the region after the 2014 visit and is now being reimagined as a symbol of hope and compassion. A conclave to elect the next Pope will begin on May 7.