The leader of the billion-strong Roman Catholic church, Pope Francis used a different kind of Popemobile during his visit to Tacloban city on Saturady, January 17, 2014. The Popemobile is customized by South Korean carmaker Kia Motors which was sent by Korea for the Pope’s use during his visit to Leyte.
The Kia Popemobile was first used by Pope Francis during the 6th Asian Youth day held in Haemi, South Korea last August 2014. The popemobile sported the Status Vaticanae-1 (SCV 1) license plate.
Although the Philippines particularly the areas of Eastern Visayas are currently battered by strong winds brought about by Bagyong Amang but Pope Francis visit was not hindered by the weather disturbance.
Hundreds of thousands of people also gathered near the Tacloban airport, considered as ground zero during the devastation of super typhoon Yolanda which caused thousands of casualties among Filipinos. People from neighboring cities and provinces flocked to Tacloban to attend the mass conducted by Pope Francis himself.
The Kia Popemobile used in Leyte is just one of the three popemobiles which will be used by the supreme pontiff during his Philippine visit. Pope Francis earlier used a customized Isuzu D-Max popemobile in Manila.
The jeepney-inspired popemobile by Francisco Motors has yet to be used but it expected to be utilized on Sunday, during the highly anticipated open ground mass of Pope Francis at the Quirino Grandstand.
According to organizers they expect more than 7 million in attendance for the Pope Francis mass this coming Sunday.
