Why Pope Francis once blessed a custom Lamborghini Huracán

Yesterday, the world received the sad news of the passing of Pope Francis.

The head of the Catholic Church passed on Easter Monday following a lengthy battle with health issues.

But back in 2017, His Holiness was gifted a custom Lamborghini Huracán by officials from the brand.

And he offered his blessing before auctioning the supercar for some wonderful causes.

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‘Pope of the slums’: from Buenos Aires to St. Peter’s successor

Jorge Mario Bergoglio was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on December 17th, 1936.

The future leader of the Catholic Church was the eldest child of an Italian immigrant father and a mother from Buenos Aires.

His family fled Italy in 1929 to escape the fascist rule of then-dictator Benito Mussolini.

In 1958, the future Pope was welcomed into the Society of Jesus in Buenos Aires.

He would later go on to become the first – and only – Jesuit Pope in the history of the Catholic Church.

In February 2001, the late Pope John Paul II made Bergoglio a Cardinal priest of San Roberto Bellarmino in Rome.

Following the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI, a papal conclave was held to elect his successor.

The second day of the process saw Cardinal Bergoglio elected Pope on March 13th, 2013.

He would take the papal name Francis, after St. Francis of Assisi – the patron saint of animals.

Pope Francis blesses…a Lamborghini Huracán?

Back in 2017, the Bishop of Rome was offered a very unusual gift.

Specifically, he was presented with a brand new, 2017 Lamborghini Huracán.

Officials from Lamborghini met His Holiness outside his papal residence in Casa Santa Marta, Vatican City.

The stunning supercar came in a beautiful white and gold finish, reflecting the Papal colors.

Pope Francis then offered his blessing of the supercar, before signing the hood.

The Bishop of Rome requested that the car be auctioned – and it fetched a pretty penny.

In fact, the sale raised over $820,000 – and it was split among four charities.

The proceeds were allocated to Christian communities in Iraq’s Nineveh Plains.

It also aided human trafficking victims through the Pope John Paul XXIII Community.

Lastly, the funds were also used to support the work of GICAM and Friends of Central Africa.

It’s heart-warming to see the proceeds go to such wonderful causes – mirroring a wonderful Pope.

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