Pope Francis leaves one final gift for the children of Gaza

The late Pope Francis Jorge Mario Bergoglio (late), one of the most staunch supporters of ending Israel's genocide in Gaza, has left one last gift for the children of the besieged strip.

One of the late Pontiff's popemobiles, open roof vehicles used by the head of the Church to mingle with followers, is being transformed into a mobile health unit for the children of Gaza, Vatican News reported on Sunday.

The repurposed popemobile is being outfitted with equipment for diagnosis, examination, and treatment, including rapid tests for infections, diagnostic instruments, vaccines, suture kits, and other life-saving supplies, Vatican News reported while citing Caritas, a Catholic aid network in Jerusalem.

In one of his final wishes before his passing, Francis entrusted the popemobile used during his 2014 pilgrimage to the Holy Lands to Caritas, Vatican News said, to help respond to the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza.

Francis asked that the vehicle be used to help injured and malnourished children in the war-torn Palestinian enclave.

“Children are not numbers. They are faces. Names. Stories. And each one is sacred,” Vatican News quoted Pope Francis as often claiming.

The mobile health unit will be staffed by doctors, medics and will reach children in the most isolated corners of Gaza once humanitarian access to the strip is restored.

“With the vehicle, we will be able to reach children who today have no access to health care—children who are injured and malnourished,” Secretary General of Caritas Sweden, Peter Brune, said in a press release.

“This is a concrete, life-saving intervention at a time when the health system in Gaza has almost completely collapsed,” he further said.

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

Secretary General of Caritas Jerusalem, Anton Asfar, stated, “This vehicle represents the love, care and closeness shown by His Holiness for the most vulnerable, which he expressed throughout the crisis.”

Meanwhile, welcoming the final gift of Pope Francis, the State of Palestine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in a post on X (formerly Twitter) on Sunday, said, “Palestine has lost a loyal friend and a steadfast supporter of our people's rights and a true messenger of peace and justice.”

“He departed this world while calling for an end to the crimes of genocide, displacement, and annexation committed against our people at a time when the world failed to protect the children of Gaza,” the ministry added.

As of May 3, 2025, the Genocide in Gaza has claimed the lives of 52,495 Palestinians, while 1163 Israelis have been killed.

Read More: Hospitalised Pope Francis still makes nightly call to Gaza

In February 2024, despite being admitted at hospital and quite unwell, Pope Francis was still making his nightly call to Gaza from his hospital bed. 

Sometimes the Pope uses a video call and sometimes a text message to stay in touch with a small Catholic parish in the Gaza strip. Reverend Gabriel Romanelli, the priest of the church in Gaza, confirmed to Vatican News that the Pope calls every night at 8 pm Palestine time, maintaining the almost daily contact he begun when Israel started its onslaught on the Gaza strip. 

"Although we had a blackout in the whole area of Gaza City, he insisted and managed to contact us with a video call," the Reverend told the Vatican media outlet, adding that the Pope inquires about the parishioners and gives blessings. 

A video of the Pope saying "Asalam o Alaikum" to Muslims present at the church went viral a few weeks ago. Francis, the first Jesuit head of the Roman Catholic Church, has been a vocal opponent of Israel's war on Gaza, going so far as to suggest that the occupying country must be investigated for war crimes. 

He has also called Israel's actions in the besieged strip "terrorism", pleading for an end to the genocide multiple times. 

The vocal opposition warned him the wrath of powerful Zionists, including the entire Israeli government, however, the Pope has not budged from his point of view. 

In April 2025, Pope Francis delivered his last speech on Easter Sunday at the Vatican's St Peter's Square.

Here is some text of his final public address, as released by the Vatican

"From the empty tomb in Jerusalem, we hear unexpected good news: Jesus, who was crucified, 'is not here, he has risen' (Lk 24:5). Jesus is not in the tomb, he is alive!

Love has triumphed over hatred, light over darkness and truth over falsehood. Forgiveness has triumphed over revenge. Evil has not disappeared from history; it will remain until the end, but it no longer has the upper hand; it no longer has power over those who accept the grace of this day.

I express my closeness to the sufferings of Christians in Palestine and Israel, and to all the Israeli people and the Palestinian people. The growing climate of anti-Semitism throughout the world is worrisome. Yet at the same time, I think of the people of Gaza, and its Christian community in particular, where the terrible conflict continues to cause death and destruction and to create a dramatic and deplorable humanitarian situation.

I appeal to the warring parties: call a ceasefire, release the hostages and come to the aid of a starving people that aspires to a future of peace!

In the passion and death of Jesus, God has taken upon himself all the evil in this world and in his infinite mercy has defeated it. He has uprooted the diabolical pride that poisons the human heart and wreaks violence and corruption on every side. The Lamb of God is victorious! That is why, today, we can joyfully cry out: 'Christ, my hope, has risen!' (Easter Sequence).

The resurrection of Jesus is indeed the basis of our hope. For in the light of this event, hope is no longer an illusion. Thanks to Christ — crucified and risen from the dead — hope does not disappoint! Spes non confundit! (cf. Rom 5:5). That hope is not an evasion, but a challenge; it does not delude, but empowers us.

Let us pray for the Christian communities in Lebanon and in Syria, presently experiencing a delicate transition in its history. They aspire to stability and to participation in the life of their respective nations. I urge the whole Church to keep the Christians of the beloved Middle East in its thoughts and prayers.

I also think in particular of the people of Yemen, who are experiencing one of the world's most serious and prolonged humanitarian crises because of war, and I invite all to find solutions through a constructive dialogue."